Chronic Wasting Disease
Research at
the USGS-Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit
Spatial
analysis of the distribution of CWD in southern
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Spatial analysis of CWD distribution in the affected area is being used in order to refine CWD management actions, assist in communication efforts and gain insight into CWD epidemiology. There are two main goals of our analysis: 1) assess broad-scale patterns of CWD in the affected area, 2) assess the fine-scale distribution of CWD abundance within a "core" affected area (indicated in red on the figure to the left) with respect to habitat, deer density, age and sex distribution and CWD abundance in adjacent areas. |
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We found that CWD prevalence declined with distance from a central location and that prevalence was correlated with the abundance of deer habitat. Our results have two main implications for management of CWD in Wisconsin: 1) the landscape pattern of CWD infection is consistent with an introduction of disease near the “core area” of the distribution, 2) the CWD outbreak in south-central Wisconsin is distinct from the outbreak found in south-east Wisconsin and northern Illinois, 3) higher prevalence of disease occurs in the core area where the disease has been present longer, 4) culling activities should be focused in geographical areas with high prevalence to have the greatest probability of removing infected individuals. These results indicate that without control efforts the CWD is likely to spread and prevalence rates will continue to increase as the disease becomes more established. |
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Former Research Associate: Dr. Damien Joly