First case of chronic wasting disease in Europe

Norwegian Veterinary Institute announced in April that the first case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids in Europe was diagnosed in wild reindeer. Chronic wasting disease is a contagious prion disease affecting wild and farmed cervids. Its incidence has been limited to the US and Canada. There have been reports of infected animals also in South Korea, but the disease was imported here through infected deers from Canada. How CWD spread to Europe is not yet known. The disease is not contagious to humans or livestock, but for cervid populations represent this fatal disease a considerable risk. The next step is likely to perform mass testing of deer, elk and reindeer on the occurrence of CWD in Norway, possibly all over the European Union.