The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife has confirmed nine additional wild whitetail deer tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in northern Marion and southern Wyandot counties. Five were bucks, and four were does. Testing was performed on hunter-harvested deer during the 2021-22 season, as well as through a planned operation in February and March to obtain additional samples.
Since the fall of 2020, 11 wild deer have tested positive for CWD, all in Wyandot and Marion counties. Nine were confirmed in Wyandot County, and two were confirmed in Marion County. CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer and other similar species, including mule deer, elk, and moose. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no strong evidence that CWD is transmissible to humans.
To increase sampling for CWD, a disease surveillance area has been expanded to include all townships in Wyandot, Marion, and Hardin counties. Special regulations and hunting opportunities are in effect in the DSA. Find more information, including a map of known locations, at ohiodnr.gov/cwd.
The Division of Wildlife has extensively monitored and tested deer in the disease surveillance area since CWD was discovered in the wild in 2020. The Division of Wildlife has conducted routine surveillance for CWD since 2002, with approximately 33,000 deer tested. CWD has been detected in 30 states and four Canadian provinces. The disease was first discovered in the 1960s in the western U.S. More information about this disease is available at cwd-info.org.
