A deer farm in Breckinridge County has been placed under quarantine following a positive test for chronic wasting disease in a dead deer at the farm.
The National Veterinary Services Laboratory informed the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Office of the State Veterinarian on Oct. 11 of the positive test. Movements in and out of the facility, including of live deer and deer products, has been restricted.
“The Office of State Veterinarian established a management (5 mile radius) and surveillance (15 mile radius) zone for herds near the affected deer farm,” according to a press release from the Department of Agriculture. “The Office of State Veterinarian is diligently reviewing recent movement records, and all deer farms in the management and surveillance zones are under restricted movement until further order of the State Veterinarian.”
Also called the zombie deer disease, chronic wasting disease is a transmittable neurodegenerative disease primarily affecting deer. The disease is caused by prions, which are folded proteins that lead to brain cell death in the affected body. Mad cow disease is a another well-known prion disease primarily affecting cattle.
Chronic wasting disease has a long incubation period, up to two years, before symptoms begin to display. Symptoms include chronic weight loss, confusion, trouble moving, excessive salivation and urination and eventually death. There is no treatment or vaccine, and cases are always fatal. Diagnosis can only occur after death.
The first case of chronic wasting disease in Kentucky was detected in December of 2023. The disease has been detected in at least 32 states in the U.S. and four provinces in Canada.
Learn more about chronic wasting disease and Kentucky’s regulations for case response at The Office of the State Veterinarian’s information page.