In six different counties, the Ohio Department of Natural Resource’s Division of Wildlife said 40 white-tailed deer taken during the 2025-26 hunting season, have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).
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The Ohio Department of Natural Resource’s Division of Wildlife said 40 white-tailed deer taken during the 2025-26 hunting season across six different counties tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease.
ODNR said in a press release, a total of 6,617 deer were tested for CWD. Positive CWD samples were detected in Allen, Crawford, Hancock, Hardin, Marion and Wyandot counties.
“CWD is a neurological disease that is fatal to white-tailed deer and other similar species, including mule deer, elk, and moose,” ODNR said. “Once an animal is infected, there is no cure for CWD. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no strong evidence that CWD is transmissible to humans.”
Up-to-date information on Chronic Wasting Disease in Ohio can be found on the CWD dashboard.
The dashboard includes location and harvest information for all CWD-positive wild white-tailed deer confirmed since 2020, according to ODNR. The interactive site helps hunters monitor the status of deer they submitted for testing.
“The Division of Wildlife has extensively monitored and tested deer in the disease surveillance area since CWD was discovered in the wild in 2020,” ODNR said. “The Division of Wildlife has conducted routine surveillance for CWD since 2002, with more than 40,000 deer tested. The disease was first discovered in the 1960s in the western U.S.”
More information about this disease is available here.