BOB@BBT
01-22-2006, 08:41 AM
Only 3 TB positive deer found in the whole state so far. Hopefully these numbers keep dropping!
http://www.michiganoutdoornews.com/articles/2006/01/19/news/news3.txt
Three deer found to be TB-positive
Wednesday, January 18, 2006 1:35 PM EST
Bill Parker Editor
East Lansing, Mich. With the lions share of testing complete on animals from the 2005 hunting seasons, no chronic wasting disease has been found in free-ranging white-tailed deer or elk in Michigan, and just three cases of bovine TB have been identified. All three positive TB tests came from white-tailed deer.
Were still testing, so our prevalence figures (for TB) wont be available until March, DNR veterinarian Dr. Steve Schmitt told Michigan Outdoor News. Once we have a suspect case it can take up to eight weeks to get the final results of testing.
As of Dec. 11, Schmitt said the state had tested 7,209 white-tailed deer for the presence of bovine TB. They had found 28 suspect cases, and so far three of those have returned positive results for TB. All three deer came from the TB Zone. Schmitt said he expects to test a few hundred more animals.
We have to look at each individual deer and the (suspect cases) go through a number of tests, Schmitt said, to determine if TB exists.
Last year, the state tested 15,129 deer and found 28 cases of TB. Why such a drop this year in the number of deer tested?
We pulled back on the number of tests we conducted on deer from the Upper Peninsula and the southern Lower Peninsula, Schmitt said. We have tested 145,000 deer (since 1995) in Michigan. We know where we have TB. Its not cost-effective to continue to test so many animals. Were still testing in every county, we just pulled back a little.
Schmitt said hunters across the state are aware of TB and that most are ready to assist in the fight against the disease. Hunters are familiar with the fact that TB causes small nodules to form in the chest cavity of infected deer.
Hunters are aware of TB now. If they see something unusual in the chest cavity, most hunters will call the DNR, and thats what we want them to do, he said.
On the CWD front, Schmitt said the state was still testing animals. Of the 1,681 whitetails, 111 elk, and seven moose tested as of mid-January, all were negative for the deadly brain disease.
We tested more last year and the year before, Schmitt said. Weve shifted away from focusing on hunter-harvested animals and are redirecting to targeted surveillance - animals acting abnormally or that are excessively thin.
Schmitt said 74 deer, four elk, and three moose that were acting abnormally have been tested and all were negative for CWD.
Since 1998 the DNR has tested 18,951 deer, 427 elk, and 27 moose for the presence of CWD, and to date, none have been found positive.
We have tested more animals than any other state in the country that doesnt have CWD, Schmitt said. We can safely say we do not have a wide outbreak of CWD in Michigan like they do in Colorado, Wyoming, and Wisconsin.
Early last fall, residents in Kent County spotted several deer that appeared thin and were acting abnormally. Test results eventually showed that none were infected with CWD. However, eight deer in the area where Kent, Montcalm, and Ionia counties meet, were infected with eastern equine encephalitis. EEE is a virus much like West Nile virus and is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito. As predicted by biologists, EEE disappeared in the deer herd when frost arrived and killed the mosquitoes.
http://www.michiganoutdoornews.com/articles/2006/01/19/news/news3.txt
Three deer found to be TB-positive
Wednesday, January 18, 2006 1:35 PM EST
Bill Parker Editor
East Lansing, Mich. With the lions share of testing complete on animals from the 2005 hunting seasons, no chronic wasting disease has been found in free-ranging white-tailed deer or elk in Michigan, and just three cases of bovine TB have been identified. All three positive TB tests came from white-tailed deer.
Were still testing, so our prevalence figures (for TB) wont be available until March, DNR veterinarian Dr. Steve Schmitt told Michigan Outdoor News. Once we have a suspect case it can take up to eight weeks to get the final results of testing.
As of Dec. 11, Schmitt said the state had tested 7,209 white-tailed deer for the presence of bovine TB. They had found 28 suspect cases, and so far three of those have returned positive results for TB. All three deer came from the TB Zone. Schmitt said he expects to test a few hundred more animals.
We have to look at each individual deer and the (suspect cases) go through a number of tests, Schmitt said, to determine if TB exists.
Last year, the state tested 15,129 deer and found 28 cases of TB. Why such a drop this year in the number of deer tested?
We pulled back on the number of tests we conducted on deer from the Upper Peninsula and the southern Lower Peninsula, Schmitt said. We have tested 145,000 deer (since 1995) in Michigan. We know where we have TB. Its not cost-effective to continue to test so many animals. Were still testing in every county, we just pulled back a little.
Schmitt said hunters across the state are aware of TB and that most are ready to assist in the fight against the disease. Hunters are familiar with the fact that TB causes small nodules to form in the chest cavity of infected deer.
Hunters are aware of TB now. If they see something unusual in the chest cavity, most hunters will call the DNR, and thats what we want them to do, he said.
On the CWD front, Schmitt said the state was still testing animals. Of the 1,681 whitetails, 111 elk, and seven moose tested as of mid-January, all were negative for the deadly brain disease.
We tested more last year and the year before, Schmitt said. Weve shifted away from focusing on hunter-harvested animals and are redirecting to targeted surveillance - animals acting abnormally or that are excessively thin.
Schmitt said 74 deer, four elk, and three moose that were acting abnormally have been tested and all were negative for CWD.
Since 1998 the DNR has tested 18,951 deer, 427 elk, and 27 moose for the presence of CWD, and to date, none have been found positive.
We have tested more animals than any other state in the country that doesnt have CWD, Schmitt said. We can safely say we do not have a wide outbreak of CWD in Michigan like they do in Colorado, Wyoming, and Wisconsin.
Early last fall, residents in Kent County spotted several deer that appeared thin and were acting abnormally. Test results eventually showed that none were infected with CWD. However, eight deer in the area where Kent, Montcalm, and Ionia counties meet, were infected with eastern equine encephalitis. EEE is a virus much like West Nile virus and is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito. As predicted by biologists, EEE disappeared in the deer herd when frost arrived and killed the mosquitoes.