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Big Game Diseases
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
A fatal, neurologic, prion disease, chronic wasting
disease impacts deer and elk in Nebraska. Prion
diseases are caused by misfolded and infectious
proteins. CWD has been detected in free-ranging
cervids globally, including 36 U.S. states and 68
Nebraska counties (See map below). Since 1997,
the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has
tested more than 58,000 deer and 400 elk, of which
1,347 deer and 23 elk have tested positive. During
the 2024 firearm season, Game and Parks focused
sampling efforts in six deer management units on the eastern part of the state (See table above).
How does CWD spread? — It is believed CWD spreads through cervid populations by direct
contact of biological materials, including feces, saliva, blood, or urine, or through indirect contact
through environmental contamination of soil, food, or water with biological materials.
How can we reduce the spread and reduce human contact with chronic wasting
disease prions? — Follow these steps:
• Educate yourself and others about it.
• Avoid artificially congregating deer through use of supplemental feeding or other methods
that concentrate deer in an area. Environments contaminated with CWD maintain infectious
material for a long time.
• If your harvest is taken out of the field for dressing, dispose of remaining tissue and bones
at a landfill in a heavy plastic bag. DO NOT transport carcasses or biological materials back
to the field.
For more information — Visit OutdoorNebraska.gov or cwd-info.org.
2024 CWD TESTING RESULTS
Unit Species % Positive
Elkhorn WT 1.7%
Missouri WT 0.5%
Loup East WT 14.9%
Blue Northwest WT 3.4%
Blue Southeast WT 1.2%
Wahoo WT 2.0%
Nebraska CWD Positive Counties, 1999-2024
