WOODWARD COUNTY, Okla. — Officials in Oklahoma said they have found a second case of zombie deer disease, or chronic wasting disease, in the state since the beginning of June.
In a news release, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation confirmed that a second white-tailed deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease. The deer was found about 15 miles east of Woodward after a resident in the area reported that the deer was acting abnormally.
The first case was reported and confirmed the first week of June in Texas County, according to KFOR.
Chronic wasting disease affects deer, elk, reindeer, moose and sika deer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Symptoms of chronic wasting disease include drastic weight loss, stumbling, listlessness and other neurological symptoms, the CDC reported. It is considered deadly to animals. There are no treatments or vaccines available.
“We will be working through our response plan implementing surveillance efforts and steps to monitor and slow the potential spread of this disease,” Jerry Shaw, ODWC’s wildlife programs supervisor, said in the news release. “Our ultimate goal is to ensure healthy and well-managed deer with as little impact to either the resource or our constituents as possible.”
ODWC said that transmission of chronic wasting disease has not been documented from animals to people or to livestock.
