Florida will continue to monitor a deer disease even after no detection this year

Wildlife officials have not found any other deer infected with fatal chronic wasting disease after one tested positive last year in Northwest Florida.

But the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will continue beefed up monitoring efforts because samples were not submitted for many deer killed by hunters in Holmes County, where the infected deer was found in June.

Cory Morea, coordinator of the commission’s Deer Management Program, said Thursday night that no new cases of the contagious disease have been detected from more than 1,300 samples taken statewide since June.

“It suggests that we have detected the disease early, which is an ideal situation,” Morea said during a presentation at the Bonifay K-8 School in Bonifay.

But Morea acknowledged that more testing is needed to keep the disease from getting a foothold in Florida.

The disease is described as similar to mad cow disease and is in 33 states and five Canadian provinces.

“We need greater stakeholder and public support in our sampling and surveillance efforts,” Morea said.

Among changes to get more hunters to bring in killed deer for testing, officials will allow baiting and feeding to lure deer in season within an area north of Interstate 10 in Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties.

Morea said using bait should minimize the risk of deer congregating for long periods, reducing the chance for the disease to spread, and “hopefully increase the harvest.”

Chronic wasting disease isn’t considered harmful to people.

But people are advised against eating deer that test positive.

For deer, the disease can result in death within four months.

Deer with the disease become emaciated and are often found isolated and trembling.

With no simple treatment or vaccine for the disease, deer farmers have expressed concern that a single positive test could require the eradication of entire herds, which in some cases represent millions of dollars in investments.

Florida has monitored the issue since 2002.

The state in 2021 placed certain limits on importing deer carcasses into Florida.