Samples from two mule deer recently taken in far West Texas have
been confirmed positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). These
are the first cases of CWD detected in Texas deer. Wildlife
officials believe the event is currently isolated in a remote
part of the state near the New Mexico border. The Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and the Texas Animal Health
Commission (TAHC) implemented regionally-focused deer sample
collection efforts after the disease was detected in the Hueco
Mountains of New Mexico during the 2011-12 hunting season. With
the assistance of cooperating landowners, TPWD, TAHC, and USDA-
APHIS-Wildlife Services biologists and veterinarians collected
samples from 31 mule deer as part of a strategic CWD
surveillance plan designed to determine the geographic extent of
New Mexico’s findings. Both infected deer were taken from the
Hueco Mountains of northern El Paso and Hudspeth counties. CWD
is a member of the group of diseases called transmissible
spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs).