Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal and highly contagious disease that affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, moose, and other members of the cervid family. This disease involving prions (abnormal proteins) causes the proteins within the brain and body to fold the wrong way, and since a protein’s function is based on the way it is folded, the prion causes changes to the way a protein functions. Because of these changes, more proteins become misfolded and corrupt, leading to the neurological symptoms that become visible, and to the eventual death of the animal. Prions have been seen across species, resulting in similar neurodegenerative disorders like Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or “mad cow disease” in cattle, and CWD in deer and other cervids. The disease was first discovered in 1967 at a research facility at Fort Collins, Colorado, where captive mule deer undergoing nutrition research were noted to have a body wasting syndrome.

Symptoms are not easily spotted and may take years to show. Visible symptoms of CWD include drastic weight loss and emaciation, behavioral changes such as decreased social interaction and loss of fear of humans, excessive thirst, and loss of bodily functions that can lead to poor motor coordination, drooling, and vacant staring. CWD is highly contagious and is transmitted through bodily fluids like feces, urine, blood, and saliva, spreading through direct contact between two animals or indirectly through contaminated soil. Because of this form of transmission, hunters may inadvertently allow the disease to spread when they kill, field dress, or dispose of a deer carcass. There is no scientific evidence yet to show that the disease can spread to humans through meat consumption or to pets or livestock through contact. Nevertheless, it is still strongly recommended that hunters get their deer tested for CWD before butchering or processing and to avoid feeding infected meat to pets.

First discovered in Arkansas in 2015, this disease has spread through the deer population and, by August 2025, had been found in twenty-four counties across the state. In efforts to slow the spread of the disease, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) began strongly urging both hunters and non-hunters to avoid using feeders that draw deer into close contact with each other. If the use of a feeder is necessary to attract the deer in order to hunt, it is recommended that the feeder used has a wide distribution. This will help lower the risk of deer congregating in close proximity to each other and transmitting the disease. The AGFC also recommends that those who do hunt continue to do so, regardless of if the deer they kill is infected with the disease. Hunting allows for population control of the deer, which in turn keeps the disease from spreading more quickly through the population. However, hunters should not move a carcass from the drop point, as this will keep the disease contained to that location if the deer is in fact infected.

If someone should see a deer that they suspect is showing signs of being infected with CWD, it is important that they call the AGFC to report the exact location of the animal. This will allow AGFC to conduct their own investigation into the area and record any findings of CWD. Because CWD is localized in each state it is found, there is not an infection percentage scale. Instead, each state tracks the infection rate per localized region.

For additional information:
“About Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).” U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-wasting/about/index.html (accessed September 23, 2026).

“Chronic Wasting Disease CWD).” Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. https://www.agfc.com/hunting/deer/chronic-wasting-disease/ (accessed September 23, 2026).

“Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).” Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. https://www.wildlifedepartment.com/hunting/resources/deer/cwd (accessed September 23, 2026).

Gaya, Heather E., Marcelo H. Jorge, Lisa A. Jorge, Mark G. Ruder, Gina J. D’Angelo, Richard B. Chandler, and Michael J. Chamberlain. “White-Tailed Deer Population Declines in a High-Prevalence Chronic Wasting Disease Region of Arkansas, USA.” Plos One, January 7, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0340070 (accessed September 23, 2026).

Jorge, Marcelo H., Lisa A. Jorge, Dana Jarosinski, Richard B. Chandler, Gino J. D’Angelo, Mark G. Ruder, and Michael J. Chamberlain. “White-Trailed Deer Scavenging Community in a Chronic Wasting Disease-Endemic Region and Considerations for Prion Movement.” Scientific Reports, April 26, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-50064-6 (accessed September 23, 2026).

Sigurdson, Christina J., and Adriano Aguzzi. “Chronic Wasting Disease.” Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1772 (June 2007): 610–618. Online at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2680674/ (accessed September 23, 2026).

Wilkinson, Todd. “‘Don’t Call It Zombie Deer Disease’: Scientists Warn of ‘Global Crisis’ as Infections Spread across the US.” The Guardian, March 20, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/20/chronic-wasting-disease-spread-zombie-deer-global-us-aoe (accessed September 23, 2026).

Mikaela Bailey Idleman
University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center f or Arkansas History and Culture