FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017

TPWD UPDATE CWD TSE Prion 49 confirmed cases and unwanted firsts for Texas

http://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2017/03/tpwd-update-cwd-tse-prion-49-confirmed.html

kind regards, terry

Thank for posting the link...

Makes me nervous about some of the extremely densely populated herds we have around the state, both urban, and ranched, or managed, or however it's best described.

Definitely not good. Long-range projections, both biologically and economically, are very discouraging. The progression in the West Texas and Panhandle areas will be significantly slowed due to lower densities. But, now that is has escaped the breeder herds in Medina area (much higher animal densities), it will expand rapidly. There is a new publication out now that is a great CWD reference with tons of info: http://apwildlife.org/publications/.

Why? CO has had it for almost 50 years, they still have lots of deer and elk especially in the ground zero area.
Their winter range densities make even the Texas Hill country look sparsely populated.

You are always going to find what you test for.

I like CO, really enjoy hunting it, but they have things I don't really want. CWD is one of them. The fact that they've had it for 50 years, and it hasn't even been slowed is concerning.

Do you really not care if Texas gets widespread CWD?

Oh, and you don't always find what you test for...at least not in cows.

Test enough and you will find it. Regardless of species. Random elk and Mulie positive tests this year in panhandle...aka test and you will find it.

Nope don't give two rat arse's. it's been documented in Texas for over 10 years and no body cared until it got a hit in a breeding facility.

Let's also step back a second it was first observed(named) in CO after they HF'd some animals to study them, thus stoping the migration. Many scientists think it's always been here. Most people see a dead deer, elk etc and think natural selection.

If you look at CWD maps of NM, and especially KS... it's random county hits. Even parts of CO where migrations aren't as common it's random hits and skips.

Show me one mass die off from CWD. There isn't one but there is for EHD... and even algal blooms.

Escaped? how did it get in the central panhandle Mule Deer and panhandle elk herd? No escapes around there.

BoBo, I'm going to start having my water well tested for oil Love your theory

Test enough water wells and bet you find it..eventually.

How many times Texas loose its TB status? Why we have some many mad cow regulations?

What makes you think the native deer didn't give it to the penned deer? It was a 1.5 year old free range buck. We all know that 1.5 year old deer don't range far. And that buck was many miles away from the pen in Medina co.

Sorry to break this to ya. But the panhandle to el paso to south central texas is pretty widespread.

Bobo is right. We are finding it because we are testing for it.

Could migratory animals deal with this differently? Just ask because I know it has been in Colorado for some time, I also know many/most deer and elk migrate at least from the high elevations and congregate in the valleys. Some deer and elk in the units I hunt even end up in Eastern Utah (20-60 mile trec)

Also, iirc, CWD testing is offered to any hunter in Colorado that wants to turn in the tissue, don't remember if it is mandatory in positive units though, this means many get tested and IMO, it hasn't spread in relation to the huge mingling of elk and deer herds in Colorado like you would think.


Just seems that migratory animals would be at a higher risk, VS localized stock, but admittedly, I don't know a lot about this "prion".

What is undeniable fact? In every area that has had CWD for up to and including over 5 decades.. There is still good huntable populations that ebb and flow much more with drought and REAL decimating diseases like EHD and anthrax.

CWD has never decimated a wild herd.

I've come to the impression that you don't hate to break anything to anybody, but that's another discussion. As for El Paso to the Panhandle, yeah, it's been there in a widely dispersed population...I just hate to see it showing up in denser populations.

But if it doesn't bother y'all, then it doesn't bother y'all, hopefully y'all are right, and it won't have any huge or far reaching impact on our deer herds.

Disease is part of the natural world, and it always has been, doesn't mean that I want more of them.

Why? CO has had it for almost 50 years, they still have lots of deer and elk especially in the ground zero area. – The fact that Colorado has had the disease for decades has little to do with the potential long-terms affects that could materialize. In evolutionary terms, 50 years is nothing. Plus, in every year since the disease was identified in Colorado, the range has expanded and infection rate has increased, in both cases meaning the disease is still in its infancy relative to population-level impacts.

You are always going to find what you test for. – One of the most odd statements I’ve seen on attempts to dismiss the significance/prevalence of the disease. You’re certainly not going to find it if you don’t look for it. Then once you find it, you blame the fact that you looked for it? Simply a deflection tactic to divert attention from the disease. I guess this reflects back to the erroneous idea that CWD may have been a long-standing disease that persisted at a low frequency forever. Hypothesized early on before much was known about the disease, the notion has been mostly dismissed by for many reasons, mainly due to the fact that infection rates continue to increase in every known CWD area (never been a documented decrease in infection rates) and the fact that significant testing has occurred for many years over a very large geographic area (important given the how contagious the disease is). If the disease had been around for generations, we would be seeing much higher infection rates and over a much larger area than we do today (just look at how quickly the disease has spread in the last decade).

Test enough and you will find it. – Only in areas where it exists. There are plenty of areas where testing occurs that CWD has not been detected. This usually results in a discussion of sample size, whereby some say that testing thousands of animals in a population of millions is not an intense-enough sampling effort. But, usually these folks lack an understanding of statistical inference and sampling probability. If a population of 10,000 animals has CWD and the infection rate is 10%, you don’t need to sample thousands of animals to find a positive. Depending on your acceptable confidence interval, you can sample much less and still detect the disease.

it's been documented in Texas for over 10 years and no body cared until it got a hit in a breeding facility. – Not true at all, many folks very much cared about potential impacts of the disease, even before Texas had its first positive. As far as the general population, many still don’t know what CWD is (including many hunters) and therefore do not know the potential implications. Apathy isn’t really a justification for dismissal.

Many scientists think it's always been here. – While hypothesized early on, most credible scientists/researchers have now dismissed this notion as a possibility. The leading theory now, deals with scrapie crossing a species barrier into cervids.

Show me one mass die off from CWD. – CWD isn’t a disease where you would expect large die-offs at one time, which involve a rapid and high infection rate from a highly contagious pathogen combined with a short incubation period and density-dependence. That’s like saying show me a mass die-off from cancer, or show me a mass die-off from Parkinson’s disease. CWD is highly contagious but is a slowly-degenerative disease. Mortality is guaranteed per individual, but not in a simultaneous fashion.

how did it get in the central panhandle Mule Deer and panhandle elk herd? No escapes around there. – One only has to look at the current distribution map of CWD to see the natural expansion of CWD into northwest Texas from southwest Kansas/southeast Colorado. Also the possibility of influence from the breeder facility in Kansas. The west Texas area stems from release of deer in New Mexico as part of a re-stocking program that occurred many years ago, and the expansion of the disease through the mountain range subsequently.

What makes you think the native deer didn't give it to the penned deer? – No credible reason at all to think this may have occurred. Deer have been tested in that area since 2002 with no positives, until the breeder discovery. Since then, all other positives relate back to the original facility (including releases), other than the free-ranging deer that occurred within a few miles of the facility. Other than just being argumentative, evidence points to the facility as the origin. Rapid expansion will most likely occur now radiating from that area.

CWD has never decimated a wild herd. – Still too early to make that claim as the disease is still in it’s infancy. Infection rates continue to increase and the range continues to expand. Given the additive and cumulative nature of the disease, populations will decline over time when the infection rates exceed reproductive rates. EHD and anthrax are different diseases with different effects to the population. EHD is viral, is not contagious, is seasonal, and isn’t always fatal. Die-offs can occur, but relatively infrequently within localized populations. There are no long-term population-level concerns for EHD. Anthrax is bacterial, seasonal, and relies on specific climatic conditions. Similar to EHD, localized die-offs can occur, but are short-lived. There are no long-term population-level concerns for anthrax. CWD is highly contagious and always fatal with progressive and cumulative infection rates. There are significant long-term implications, both economically and biologically.

For those with specific questions, I’d encourage folks to research the disease independently, and to utilize quality sources of information from knowledgeable parties.

Like I said the prion has yet to cause a mass die off. EHD and anthrax have killed far more then CWD has.

the disease first observed in 1967. EHD was first observed in 1955, Hardly infacy. Fact is it's doesn't cause mass die offs EHD does, so most states know the sky isn't falling.

No breeding facilities in south west KS or SE CO. The disease has skipped many countries randomly over great distances. KS has been testing since 96. They have also since decided to scale it back.

When did NM restock Mule deer in South Eastern portion, when did they introduce Rocky Mountain elk in the southern half to make up for the lost Merriam's? I'm real curious where the CWD positive deer came from on Whitesands Missle Range!!!! You seems to know? Pretty Sure NM would love to hear about it.

When it comes to Death lose I'll fear EHD far more then CWD. Had EHD hits on my old ranch and had 40% death lose. Also been hunting ranches that have had CWD hits since the 90's. Still got lots of deer and elk




Like I said when CWD lays out 1000 elk at a time when the are densely populated in their wintering grounds then let's get concerned, hasn't happened and won't.

Every species of animals on this earth has individuals that are resistant to a specific disease. As with CWD, there is already elk that are resistant to it. All diseases run their course.

Yotes are pretty damn good at covering things up. Just because we didn't test for it or know what to observe for doesn't mean it wasn't already here.

Y'all should have quit digging the hole after Trash Fish and Cull Buck's post.

I'm not an expert, but I don't believe therancher and BOBO know everything, while every state fish and wildlife department in the country with all their wildlife biologists moving heaven and earth to contain CWD know nothing.

I don't see any hole digging. TFaCB didn't convince me he knows anything about this disease. He's throwing out facts that aren't facts and speculating like everybody else to support his opinion.

Actually thats the most misinformed or intentionally misinforming post you have every written on the subject

What is CO, KS, and NM response? What is ground ZERO and touching states doing to contain? Random sampling is not moving heaven and earth to contain. Lol

I'm still waiting for cull bucks response to whitesands in NM. He seems to know more then the State does, hell he'll even the restocking dates would be nice.

I may not know everything but I damn sure know the difference between montioring for 40 years and the massive idiocy of TX and AR.

Pretty much does what all the sky is falling people do...project.

Reason why he didn't give a time line on the NM reintroduction. Also a reason he just made it sound like that elk and Mule deer came from Oklahoma border. Unfortunately they where almost 400 miles from Kansas. Which means that elk didn't come from the Cimmeron herd. Came from eastern NM where there is no "documented" cases of CWD until you hit the Sacermento mountains some 300 miles away.

More you test more you will find it. Mean while, we will continue you to see big kills caused by EHD and anthrax....and not CWD.

"CWD is highly contagious and always fatal with progressive and cumulative infection rates."

That is the most ridiculous lie I've ever seen on this forum.

If that were true then there wouldn't be a huntable population of deer anywhere.

Great reference my a$$. This is nothing more than a anti high fence lobbying organization recently formed asking for donations to support their agenda.