Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has spread to the Golden State. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has confirmed that samples collected on May 6 from a deer in Madera County and a deer from Inyo County were both infected with the fatal disease, according to a news release.

The Madera County deer was discovered dead due to unknown causes near Yosemite Lakes. The Inyo County deer was involved in a vehicle collision. 

CDFW biologists have tested the lymph nodes over 6,500 deer and elk since the agency began its CWD monitoring in 2000. They’ve also been working with hunters, taxidermists and meat processers for the past six years to increase surveillance efforts. Based on the positive detection of CWD results in two separate areas, officials believe that the disease has, unfortunately, been in the state for quite a while.

“CWD infected animals can excrete infectious prions before clinical signs appear and these prions can persist in the environment for years, making it very difficult to prevent or control the spread once it has been introduced,” said Dr. Brandon Munk, CDFW’s wildlife veterinarian. “The public can help limit the spread of CWD by reporting any signs of illness in deer and elk populations, and hunters should strongly consider testing their harvested deer or elk.”

Hunters can continue to help CDFW with CWD monitoring by submitting lymph node samples from deer or elk harvests this fall. Sick deer or elk can also be reported via the Wildlife Mortality Reporting.