Chronic wasting disease is a little understood disease with a long incubation period that will take several agencies to manage, a veterinary researcher told an international conference last week.
“We need to provide the resources to get answers sooner rather than later,” said Trent Bollinger, regional director of the Canadian Co-operative Wildlife Health Centre.
Speaking in Saskatoon Aug. 16, Bollinger called for a response using several jurisdictions and agencies, noting no one group has enough money to do “a decent job.”
He said there needs to be more analysis of risk factors for CWD and testing for past exposure to other diseases like scrapie.
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Surveillance and sampling programs often rely on animals shot by hunters and concentrate on areas where there is an outbreak, he said.
Don McKinnon of Saskatchewan Environment said the testing relies on hunter samples because resources are limited and test costs are high.
“Eradicating it in Saskatchewan needs a lot of resources for a long time, efficient use of resources and luck.”
McKinnon said his department concentrates on wild populations in areas considered high risk, such as near game farms and where previous CWD cases have been found.
He said CWD risks are also heightened for large populations of wild game concentrated through baiting, a common tactic used by hunting outfitters.
Mike Miller, of the Colorado division of wildlife, said his state is making inroads in managing CWD by keeping deer and elk in their native rangeland, avoiding artificial congregating and respecting the animals natural migration patterns.
As a result of these proactive measures, he said he expected to have a handle on the disease within three to five years.
