Chronic wasting disease (CWD), or “zombie deer disease,” has spread to a new county in West Virginia.
According to a press release from the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR), the new case was confirmed in a deer in Jefferson County. This is the first confirmed case in Jefferson County, upping the number of affected counties in West Virginia to five: Berkeley, Mineral, Morgan, Hampshire and, now, Jefferson.
Previously, the disease had not spread to a new county in West Virginia since 2018.
Paul Johansen, chief of the WVDNR Wildlife Resources Section, said in the release that there is no evidence that CWD is harmful to humans, but that hunters should follow West Virginia’s carcass transport regulations to prevent it from spreading.Watch: West Virginia bald eagle mom protects eggs through thunderstorm
Under the 2023-2024 West Virginia hunting regulations, transporting deer carcasses from counties with known CWD cases and baiting deer in those counties as well as nearby Grant County is illegal.
According to the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, CWD is a neurological disease that causes loss of body condition, behavioral changes, excessive salivation and, eventually, death. Infected deer might be staggering, have bad posture and not be afraid of humans.