Generally Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is thought to be derived from a prion agent that causes scrapie in domestic sheep, probably in a localized area of Colorado/Wyoming/Nebraska where CWD was first recognized in the 1970s and 1980s.
However, CWD only occurs in cervids, and is NOT a disease of traditional livestock (cows, sheep or pigs). CWD also is not known to infect humans.
CWD surveillance - Annual summaries since 2009
CWD timeline: Key developments since 2001
For a map showing recent cases of CWD in wild cervids in Alberta, see Chronic Wasting Disease in Wild Cervids in Alberta at:
2012
CWD was detected in a wild moose south of Medicine Hat. This is the first report of CWD in this species in Canada. The moose died as a result of a vehicle collision but was tested as part of Alberta's ongoing CWD surveillance program. |
2009 & 2010
In January 2009, winter CWD control programs were suspended until further notice despite new cases of CWD detected in the 2008 and 2009 fall hunter surveillance. The geographic distribution and incidence (rate) of new cases increased in the 2009 fall hunter sample. |
2007 & 2008
A two-part program (our one-two punch) combining fall hunter surveillance with subsequent winter response was applied. Disease control efforts were delivered in February and March around new cases of CWD detected during hunting seasons in the previous November and December. Winter control programs generally found and removed three times more infected deer than the fall hunter surveillance, and provided focused local herd reduction in places where the disease was known to occur. |
2006
Enhanced surveillance upstream on the Red Deer and South Saskatchewan rivers, in addition to herd reduction around the previous cases of CWD was applied between January and March 2006. In conjunction with staff from Saskatchewan Environment, limited herd reduction also was conducted east of Empress. From the 1439 deer collected in Alberta, CWD was confirmed in seven wild deer in the vicinity of Empress and Acadia Valley along the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. Two additional cases of CWD were found in the 298 deer collected in Saskatchewan. |
From the fall 2006 hunting seasons, two hunter-killed deer near Edgerton and Chauvin, along with one near Empress, were confirmed with CWD. These were the first two cases of CWD found in north central Alberta along the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. |
2005
In late March/April 2005, the Fish and Wildlife Division collected deer from a small high risk area east of Chauvin (including Dillberry Lake Provincial Park) near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border (CWD was known to occur in wild deer in the adjacent area of Saskatchewan). This was Alberta's first herd reduction program. The program was designed to enhance the surveillance sample in this area and initiate reduction of the high local deer density. All 486 deer collected were negative for CWD. |
On September 2, 2005, CWD was confirmed in an emaciated mule deer found in a farmyard near Acadia Valley in southeastern Alberta along the eastern border. This was the first wild deer found to have the disease in Alberta. |
In September and October 2005, 162 deer were collected in the vicinity of the infected deer at Acadia Valley. A further two cases of CWD were found in the area north of the Red Deer River. |
In early December 2005, Alberta found its first case of CWD in a deer killed by a hunter. This deer was killed in the South Saskatchewan River valley south of Empress. Herd reduction programs were implemented early in 2006 in the vicinity of the infected deer. |
2003
In response to finding CWD on two game farms in central Alberta, the Fish and Wildlife Division sampled wild deer in the vicinity of the farms in late February/early March 2003. All 320 deer and elk collected were negative for CWD. Ongoing hunter surveillance in the area from fall 2002 to fall 2005 did not detect any evidence of CWD in wild deer. |
2002
In late March 2002, CWD was identified in a farmed elk in Alberta. The infection was detected as part of Alberta's provincial surveillance program that began in 1996. Federal CWD eradication programs were implemented immediately. All farmed cervids that moved on or off the premises in the previous three years as well as the current animals on the farm were killed and tested. No further CWD was found. |
In early November 2002, CWD was identified in a farmed white-tailed deer in Alberta. As with the farmed elk, federal control and eradication programs were implemented immediately. One additional case of CWD was found. |
2001
In response to the first report of CWD in a wild mule deer in Saskatchewan early in 2001, the Fish and Wildlife Division collected 241 wild deer along the Alberta/Saskatchewan border in April 2001. All deer collected were negative for CWD. |
Alberta's response to CWD
From 2005 to 2008, Alberta delivered an aggressive program to find and remove infected wild deer and to limit spread of Chronic Wasting Disease. The program relied heavily on hunters and landowners as well as extensive public information provided on an ongoing basis.
Current programs are aimed at documenting the spread of CWD within Alberta, while trying to maximize hunting harvest.
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