FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A deadly disease found in deer, elk and other animals in North America as been detected in Fairfax County for the first time.
According to the Fairfax County Police Department, an adult male white-tailed deer found in the Vienna area of Fairfax County tested positive for chronic wasting disease after it was taken to a laboratory for testing.
This is the first time the disease has been detected in an animal in Fairfax County.
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic wasting disease is a prion disease found in deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer and moose in North America, as well as Norway and South Korea.
It can take over a year before an animal infected with the disease begins to show symptoms, which include dramatic weight loss, stumbling and listlessness, among other things. Chronic wasting disease is fatal to animals and there is no vaccine or treatment.
There has never been a reported case of chronic wasting disease in humans, though studies suggest it can effect certain non-human primates, raising concerns that it could pose a risk to humans.
County staff and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources have been working together to monitor local wildlife for chronic wasting disease. Since 2019, they have sampled and tested over 750 deer.
It is yet to be determined how this will affect rules and regulations for hunting in Fairfax County.
