Third deer infected with chronic wasting disease in B.C

The wasting disease affects deer, elk, moose and caribou. It attacks their central nervous system and causes cell death in the brain.

The ministry says there is no treatment or vaccine and the disease is always fatal.

The ministry says there is no direct evidence that the disease can be transmitted to humans, but Health Canada recommends that people should not eat meat from an infected animal because cooking cannot destroy the abnormal protein that causes the disease.

In July, the government of British Columbia introduced mandatory testing for the disease for deer, elk and moose killed in certain zones of the Kootenay region.

The first two cases identified in B.C. were a male mule deer killed by a hunter and a female white-tailed deer killed in a road accident.

Other steps included removing urban deer from Cranbrook and Kimberley.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

Canadian Press