Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Testing in Cervids
By Rachel Corn, VT
Because of the possibility that CWD is a zoonotic disease, the CDC and Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism recommend that deer and elk be tested for this disease before human consumption if the animal was harvested from an area known to have CWD-positive animals. According to the CDC, there are 21 states that have reported CWD positive deer and elk. Over the last few years positive deer have been found in 24 Kansas counties.
In order to make testing easier, KSVDL is offering free CWD test kits to all hunters, veterinary practitioners, and producers. CWD test kits include sample collection instructions, containers of formalin, packaging material, a shipping container, and test submission forms.
There is no charge for the kit. There is a $7.00 charge for shipping the kit from KSVDL. To order a kit please call KSVDL Client Care at 866-512-5650 or email at clientcare@vet.k-state.edu.
Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic lab offers the CWD test for $23.75 per animal (turnaround time is approximately 3-4 days).
For further instructions on how to collect and package samples for CWD testing, please follow this link to the KSVDL YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzmFN6tVa_k).
Discounted Saturday Delivery December 24th and December 31st
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