Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) CWD Poster for Hunters (Printable
PDF Version) Has Chronic Wasting Disease been found in Maryland?
Yes. In February 2011, DNR received positive laboratory
confirmation that a white-tailed deer tested positive for CWD.
The deer was harvested by a hunter in Allegany County in
November, 2010. Maryland now joins 20 other states and 2
Canadian provinces with CWD documented in deer, elk, and moose.
What is CWD? Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal disease
that attacks the brain and spinal cord of deer and elk,
specifically white-tailed deer, moose, mule deer, and Rocky
Mountain elk. While the exact cause is not known, it is believed
to be a prion disease. A prion is an altered protein that causes
other normal proteins to change and cause sponge-like holes in
the brain. The origin of these prions is currently unknown. CWD
is related to, but different from, scrapie in sheep and Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) in cattle and
Creutzfelt-Jacob Disease (CJD) in h