EDGECOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is looking into a possible case of a contagious disease among deer in Edgecombe County. <\/p>\n
N.C. Wildlife is reporting a potential case of Chronic Wasting Disease, or CWD, after a preliminary test result from a three-and-a-half-year-old male white-tailed deer came back positive. <\/p>\n
Officials say the deer was harvested by a hunter in the eastern corner of the county, a few miles from the Pitt-Martin County line. <\/p>\n
If confirmed as positive, the deer would be the 35th CWD-positive deer found in North Carolina since the initial detection of the disease in 2022. <\/p>\n
The sample is currently being tested by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory to verify the results.<\/p>\n
The closest confirmed location from this new suspected site is in Cumberland County, nearly 100 miles away, according to officials. <\/p>\n
CWD is transmissible to other deer and spreads through infected body fluids, like saliva, urine, feces and the movement of infected deer carcasses and carcass parts.<\/p>\n
Because deer may appear healthy during the early stages of infection, officials are stressing to hunters the importance of taking precautions when moving or disposing of deer carcasses.<\/p>\n
N.C. Wildlife asks hunters to submit deer harvested in Edgecombe County and the surrounding areas for testing. They\u2019re also asked to keep the deer and its high-risk carcass parts in the county of origin.<\/p>\n
All hunters are encouraged to follow these disposal methods for non-edible portions of carcasses:<\/p>\n
Bury deer remains where you harvest the animal when possibleDouble-bag deer remains for disposal in a landfillLeave the deer remains on the ground where the animal was harvested<\/p>\n
Low-risk carcass parts, like boned-out meat, caped hides, antlers, cleaned jawbones, skulls and teeth, as well as finished taxidermy products, are safe to transport outside of Edgecombe County. <\/p>\n
The Centers for Disease Control have not reported any cases of CWD infection in people. <\/p>\n
N.C. Wildlife says, though there is no scientific evidence that CWD can infect humans, some animal studies have suggested that it poses a risk to certain types of non-human primates. <\/p>\n