Grunter
10-03-2005, 08:32 AM
September 30, RockyMountain News (CO)
A moose killed in north−central Colorado has tested positive for chronic wasting
disease (CWD), the first known case of a wild moose contracting the neurological illness. CWD is typically a disease of deer and elk. But wildlife officials have long wondered whether a moose would contract CWD because all three creatures are in the deer family. Since 2002, hunters submitted 288 moose for CWD testing in Colorado, and none was found to be carrying the disease. The only other instance of a moose contracting the disease came in captivity.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department intentionally infected a moose with CWD to determine whether it would become ill, said Tyler Baskfield, a division spokesperson. Moose, numbering fewer than 1,300 in Colorado, are far less prevalent than deer and elk, which each number in the hundreds of thousands in the state. Unlike deer and elk, moose don't form herds or social groups, and are more likely spared transmission of the disease through saliva or contact between live animals. The infected moose was taken by an archer in Jackson County. It was killed in a game management unit with just two known cases of CWD−infected animals since 2002.
Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance: http://www.cwd−info.org (http://www.cwd−info.org/)
A moose killed in north−central Colorado has tested positive for chronic wasting
disease (CWD), the first known case of a wild moose contracting the neurological illness. CWD is typically a disease of deer and elk. But wildlife officials have long wondered whether a moose would contract CWD because all three creatures are in the deer family. Since 2002, hunters submitted 288 moose for CWD testing in Colorado, and none was found to be carrying the disease. The only other instance of a moose contracting the disease came in captivity.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department intentionally infected a moose with CWD to determine whether it would become ill, said Tyler Baskfield, a division spokesperson. Moose, numbering fewer than 1,300 in Colorado, are far less prevalent than deer and elk, which each number in the hundreds of thousands in the state. Unlike deer and elk, moose don't form herds or social groups, and are more likely spared transmission of the disease through saliva or contact between live animals. The infected moose was taken by an archer in Jackson County. It was killed in a game management unit with just two known cases of CWD−infected animals since 2002.
Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance: http://www.cwd−info.org (http://www.cwd−info.org/)