LDWF Biologists, Veterinarians Meet with Arkansas, Mississippi Personnel to Review CWD Response
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) deer and wildlife health and disease program biologists and wildlife veterinarians met Thursday (Feb. 15) with Arkansas and Mississippi wildlife personnel to discuss and review their respective chronic wasting disease (CWD) response plans.
Arkansas, which confirmed CWD in its state two years ago, shared valuable information from its experiences so far. Each agency’s staff will play important roles in upcoming disease sampling and surveillance in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Deer with Chronic Wasting Disease
A CWD-positive deer was confirmed in Issaquena County, Miss., on Jan. 25, making Mississippi the 25 th state to confirm the presence of the disease.
Louisiana and Mississippi will have coordinated and measured responses, officials said. Although Louisiana has not detected the disease, the CWD-positive deer was only about five miles from the Louisiana/Mississippi border. LDWF has implemented its response plan along with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP).
Landowner contacts and logistics of surveillance work are being planned and finalized. Louisiana and Mississippi personnel will communicate closely with each other as well as landowners and the public within the surveillance zones.
