Kentucky Fish and Wildlife monitoring case of CWD in an Indiana deer

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife has been in contact with officials in Indiana after a deer on their side of the Ohio River tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced last week that a 2 1/2 year-old male hunter-harvested deer in Posey County tested positive for CWD. Posey County is located across from Henderson and Union counties in Kentucky. 

​​​​To date, CWD has been detected in Kentucky twice – first in a wild deer in Ballard County in November 2023, and more recently in a captive deer from a permitted facility in Breckinridge County this past October.​​

​​Since 2002, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife has tested more than 60,000 deer and elk from every Kentucky county, mostly during the fall hunting season.

Chronic wasting disease is caused by abnormal proteins that affect white-tailed deer and elk. There is no known cure or vaccine, and the disease is always fatal in infected animals.

While not known to be transmissible to people, the Centers for Disease Control recommends avoiding consumption of meat from deer that test positive for CWD. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife also advises against consuming meat from animals that appear sick or in poor condition.