Chronic Wasting Disease Found in More Counties in South Dakota

A scourge of disease on deer is spreading in South Dakota.

The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks announced that more counties have been found to have cases of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The infected deer was found in Butte, Corson and Haakon Counties. The discovery was found due to hunters who submitted samples.

“We’ve learned that CWD is not a disease just restricted to the Black Hills and surrounding area and this definitely creates some challenges moving forward,” said GFP wildlife program administrator Chad Switzer. “As the surveillance efforts from the 2019 hunting seasons come to end, an update will be provided to the GFP Commission in March and a report will be made available to the public on our website."

Now the counties that have been confirmed to have cases of CWD are Bennett, Butte, Corson, Custer, Fall River, Haakon, Harding, Jackson, Meade, Lawrence, Pennington, and Tripp.

CWD is a prion brain disease that affects elk, deer, and antelope that eventually leads to death.