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Colorado reports 29 positive CWD tests since July
10/22/03
DENVER (AP) - There have been 29 positive results among the 3,231 deer and elk the state has tested since July for chronic wasting disease. And those all came from areas of the state where the disease already had been confirmed.
But state officials expect the numbers to climb if weather conditions improve so that hunters have more luck.
''Our biggest problem this year is the weather. It's really working against hunters, so we aren't getting many animals in to test,'' said Todd Malmsbury, spokesman for the state Division of Wildlife.
Barb Powers, director of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Colorado State University, said the state is set up to do about 40,000 tests this year if that many samples come it.
There are four rifle seasons, along with an archery and muzzleloader season, Powers said. ''If the weather changes and hunters start filling out their licenses, we'll get busy,'' she said.
State officials are testing for CWD, a neurological disorder that attacks the brains of elk and deer and causes death, to keep track of its progress.
There has been no proof so far linking it to health problems in humans who have eaten infected animals, but biologists around the nation are checking this year for infections after Utah, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Illinois found it in their deer last year.
Those states joined Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and other Western states with wild herds infected with the deadly disorder.
10/22/03
DENVER (AP) - There have been 29 positive results among the 3,231 deer and elk the state has tested since July for chronic wasting disease. And those all came from areas of the state where the disease already had been confirmed.
But state officials expect the numbers to climb if weather conditions improve so that hunters have more luck.
''Our biggest problem this year is the weather. It's really working against hunters, so we aren't getting many animals in to test,'' said Todd Malmsbury, spokesman for the state Division of Wildlife.
Barb Powers, director of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Colorado State University, said the state is set up to do about 40,000 tests this year if that many samples come it.
There are four rifle seasons, along with an archery and muzzleloader season, Powers said. ''If the weather changes and hunters start filling out their licenses, we'll get busy,'' she said.
State officials are testing for CWD, a neurological disorder that attacks the brains of elk and deer and causes death, to keep track of its progress.
There has been no proof so far linking it to health problems in humans who have eaten infected animals, but biologists around the nation are checking this year for infections after Utah, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Illinois found it in their deer last year.
Those states joined Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and other Western states with wild herds infected with the deadly disorder.
