B.C. is responding to a potential case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a male white-tailed deer harvested east of Enderby.
CWD is a transmissible, infectious, fatal and degenerative disease of the brain and nervous system that affects the cervid family, including deer, elk, moose and caribou.
Initial testing by the provincial animal health laboratory detected prions (abnormal proteins) that may indicate CWD in the deer sample. Further testing will be conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which is expected to confirm CWD next month.
This potential case is the first identified outside B.C.’s existing CWD management zone in the Kootenay region. This disease was first detected in B.C. in 2024 in two deer sampled from the Kootenays.
“This is the first potential detection in the Okanagan,” read the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship’s announcement.
The Ministry strongly encourages people to continue submitting samples from deer, elk and moose harvested in the province.
“There is no direct evidence that the disease can be transmitted to humans and there have been no cases of the disease in humans,” the Ministry said.
To prevent any potential risk of transmission or illness, Health Canada and the World Health Organization recommend that people avoid consuming meat or other animal parts infected with CWD.
The Ministry said the Province will engage with hunters and partner organizations to share information and guide the next phase of the response.
If the potential case is positive, the CFIA will make a public announcement.
