Chronic Wasting Disease

Weight loss, poor body condition, increased urination, drooping ears, drooling, difficulty swallowing, wheezing or breathing abnormalities.

If you see a deer exhibiting signs of CWD, report it to your local Game and Parks office, or to the Wildlife Health email [email protected] with the location, date, time, number of deer affected, and any other information you can provide.

CWD can be transmitted directly from animal-to-animal contact, indirectly through environmental contamination or materials, and potentially vertically from mother to offspring. Animals that are crowded or confined have a greater chance of encountering the body fluids of other animals and, therefore, a higher likelihood of becoming infected if CWD prions are present.

Surveillance occurs on a rotating basis across the state’s deer management units. Our surveillance plan for the 2026-2027 season is currently in development. The deer management units in which surveillance will be conducted will be announced later in the year.

In 2025, lymph node samples were collected from harvested deer to be tested for CWD during the firearm season in the Buffalo, Platte, Frenchman, and Republican units.

Submissions are voluntary from hunters, and Nebraska Game and Parks staff will collect and pay for testing of samples collected from deer harvested within the designated surveillance DMUs each year.

Hunters outside of the designated surveillance units can submit samples through their local veterinarian or to the Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center, Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab or Wyoming State Veterinary Lab at the hunter’s expense.

Testing continues throughout the year for suspect sick deer and elk.

Participation in the CWD surveillance program is optional. Hunters in the four designated Deer Management Units can opt in to have their deer tested at no cost to them by requesting a mail-in kit or having their sample taken at a local check station.

Clinical signs of CWD alone are not conclusive, and there is currently no practical live animal test. Currently, the only conclusive diagnosis involves an examination of the brain, tonsils or lymph nodes performed after death. Research is being conducted to develop live-animal diagnostic tests for CWD.

If a deer tests positive for CWD, Game and Parks staff will notify the hunter using the contact information associated with the hunter’s permit account. Hunters can view their test results by clicking “Look up deer CWD results” under the CWD testing results deer tab within their account in the permit system. Results may take 3-6 weeks.

Nebraska Game and Parks does not reissue tags for harvested deer that test positive for CWD.

The Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization recommend avoiding consumption of meat from deer and elk that look sick or that test positive for CWD.

Public health officials recommend that human exposure to the CWD infectious agent be avoided as they continue to evaluate any potential health risk.

People should remain cautious in how they handle, process, and consume deer. Hunters and commercial processors should avoid butchering or processing of deer that spreads spinal cord or brain tissue to meat or to the environment.

For questions related to human health, contact the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services or visit the CDC website.

• Do not shoot, handle or consume wildlife of any size that is acting abnormally or appears to be sick.
  
  
• Wear latex or rubber gloves while field-dressing or processing game.
  
  
• Minimize the use of a bone saw to cut through the brain or spine, and do not cut through edible portions of meat with a blade used to cut bone. Bone out the meat.
  
  
• Minimize contact with and do not consume brain or spinal cord tissues, eyes, spleen or lymph nodes.
  
  
• Always wash hands thoroughly after dressing and processing game meat.
  
  
• Disinfect butchering equipment with 50/50 solution of chlorine bleach and water. CWD prions can remain viable for months or even years in the soil.
  
  
• Field dress animals at the place of kill and double bag the head (brain), spinal column and other carcass parts and dispose of it at a licensed landfill.

Deer processing video series

Learn how to properly field dress and debone your harvest through a video series created by the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance.

The Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center, Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab and the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory all will test deer for CWD. Hunters also can contact their local veterinarian for assistance.

Test results may take up to 6-8 weeks and times will vary depending on the volume of samples submitted. Hunters should keep this in mind if test results are desired before processing deer.

If you remove the skull cap with antlers attached, the saw should be cleaned and disinfected with a 50/50 solution of chlorine bleach and water. This saw should not be used to cut through any edible portions of meat on the carcass.

If you keep the entire skull (for a European mount), you should insure all flesh and soft tissue, including brain matter, is removed. Wear rubber or latex gloves while doing this, and clean the skull by soaking it in a 50/50 solution of chlorine bleach and water.

A number of states have adopted regulations affecting the transportation of hunter-harvested deer and elk. Since the suspected infective agent (prion) is concentrated in the brain, spinal cord and lymph glands, the most common regulation is the prohibition of the importation of whole carcasses harvested from CWD areas.

Generally, states that have adopted carcass transportation regulations do not allow importation of any brain or spinal column tissue, but allow processed/wrapped meat, quarters (with no spinal column or head), hides, clean antlers/skull plates with no meat or tissue attached, finished taxidermy.

Since regulations are continually evolving, it is recommended that you check the CWD regulations in your state before hunting. A summary of state-by-state carcass transportation regulations may be accessed through this interactive map.

CWD poses serious problems for wildlife managers, and the implications for free-ranging deer and elk are significant. While some impacts of CWD on population dynamics of deer and elk are still being researched, studies show CWD has the potential to substantially reduce infected deer or elk populations by lowering adult survival rates and destabilizing long-term population dynamics.

Find additional information from the Centers for Disease Control and Protection on Chronic Wasting Disease:

• CWD resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Map of CWD in North America