DNR: chronic wasting disease widespread in pockets of West Virginia; Hampshire study finds high adult prevalence

Wildlife disease staff from the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources told the Natural Resources Commission on April 30 that chronic wasting disease remains a persistent and expanding threat in parts of the state and that the agency is expanding targeted surveillance and research.

Ethan Barton, wildlife disease specialist, summarized CWD biology and surveillance. "Every deer that gets it, if it's not killed by something else first, will die of disease," Barton told commissioners, describing the disease as a fatal, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy with infectious material shed in saliva, urine, feces and carcasses.

Key surveillance and research points reported in the presentation:
- DNR has conducted statewide surveillance since 2002 and has detected CWD in multiple counties, including Hampshire, Hardy, Berkeley, Mineral, Morgan and Jefferson; the most recent detections include Grant County and a nearby positive in Hardy County.
- The agency described targeted sampling strategies (roadkill, special collections, taxidermist-assisted sampling and clover trapping) as more efficient for detection in known or suspected areas of spillover than broad county-wide mandatory check stations.
- A Marion County detection in a captive herd (September 2024) prompted DNR outreach to nearby landowners and enhanced sampling; initial voluntary hunter response to postcard outreach was low, so DNR increased roadkill and targeted collections in 2025–26.
- Results from a Hampshire County deer research project were highlighted: of 107 GPS-collared deer monitored between 2021–23, 79 are known or probable dead; 50 recovered carcasses tested positive for CWD and 25 died of late-stage clinical disease. In a monitored 39-square-mile area, DNR reported an estimated adult (>'1 year) prevalence near 60% in spring 2022, up from roughly 33% in 2017 in that same monitoring area.

Barton described management measures focused on human behaviors that elevate spread risk (feeding/baiting and improper carcass disposal), and noted that the agency provides free dumpsters in containment-area counties to encourage safe disposal. He also discussed captive-cervid regulation (West Virginia Department of Agriculture oversight and USDA herd-certification programs) and said three captive operations with CWD had been depopulated in recent years.

On research, Barton described partnerships that produced notable findings, including detection of infectious material in fetal and reproductive tissues (evidence supporting possible vertical transmission) and ongoing work on improved assays and blood testing.

Commissioners asked how long baiting prohibitions should remain in adjoining counties and whether positives continue to be found; Barton said restrictions are evaluated case by case and that positives continue to be detected in multiple counties, particularly Hampshire and Berkeley.

The DNR presentation concluded with plans for continued targeted surveillance in Marion County and ongoing monitoring and research collaboration with other states and universities.

(Reporting based on the West Virginia Natural Resources Commission meeting, April 30, 2026.)