RML Scientists and Others Discuss Chronic Wasting Disease

An update on Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in deer and elk is planned for Thursday, April 11, in Hamilton. The 7 p.m. public presentation at the Hamilton Performing Arts Center will be by scientists of Hamilton's Rocky Mountain Laboratories and a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks disease ecologist. The cause and spread of CWD will be explained, among other topics.

Drs. Bruce Chesebro, M.D., and Brent Race, D.V.N., will present RML's research on prion disease. CWD is a type of prion disease found in wild or domesticated deer, elk, moose and reindeer. It leads to degeneration of the brain. Chesebro and Race will talk of studies that indicate no natural transmission of CWD sheep, cattle or people from the deer and elk populations. Emily Almberg of Montana FWP will talk about the state's surveillance and response to finding deer with CWD recently in Montana. CWD was first identified in Colorado captive deer in the 1960s and in Colorado wild deer in 1981. CWD was found on a Montana game farm in 1999 and in recently in wild deer in 2017. Rocky Mountains Labs research on prion diseases started in the 1960s with Dr. William Hadlow and Dr. Carl Eklund. The hour-long presentation is free to the public. The Performing Arts Center is at Hamilton High School on Fairgrounds Road.