Second case of CWD detected in Idaho domestic elk

BOISE — The Idaho State Department of Agriculture has confirmed a second case of Chronic Wasting Disease in domestic elk following the testing of an adult domestic cow elk that died in a Jefferson County facility. 

This case has no association with the CWD-positive captive bull elk identified in Madison County in December 2024, according to a press release from ISDA. 

Idaho requires domestic elk facilities to submit all inventory and disease surveillance data to ISDA at the end of each calendar year, resulting in the close timing of the two cases.

The infected animal was located on a captive elk ranch that had been under enhanced CWD surveillance protocols, which require mandatory testing of all on-facility deaths. 

Enhanced CWD surveillance protocols were implemented after the facility imported shipments of domestic elk in 2023 from a captive facility that was located within 25 miles of a confirmed case of CWD in wild elk, according to the release. 

All remaining elk that arrived in the 2023 shipment are alive and will remain under quarantine.

The facility had been in compliance with CWD testing requirements. Following the positive detection, ISDA issued a quarantine of all remaining elk on the facility to restrict further movement of the CWD-exposed animals.

CWD was first detected in wild deer in Idaho in 2021 and the following year in wild elk. 

CWD is a rare disease affecting the brains of mule deer, black-tailed deer, white-tailed deer, elk, moose and reindeer. The disease belongs to a group of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. 

There is no known cure for TSEs, and they always are fatal in susceptible host species. No CWD infections in people have been reported. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommends that people do not eat meat from CWD affected animals.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has been notified and the ISDA will continue to work with the affected facility.