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LOWNDES COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) – Lowndes County is now a part of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) management area, monitoring the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).
The latest deer diagnosed with CWD was found in Lanier County. Deer populations within a 5-mile radius of the discovery site will now be monitored. This radius includes parts of Lowndes County. Lanier and Berrien counties are also a part of this CWD management area.
The first case of CWD was found in Lanier County in January 2025. The second deer was found in Berrien County in April 2025, just 400 yards from the first confirmed case.
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects deer, elk, and moose. There are no known treatments or cures for the disease. CWD is 100% fatal in deer.
DNR reports the disease was first discovered in Fort Collins, Colorado, in 1967. Since then, CWD has confirmed cases in 36 states.
There are no known cases of CWD transmission to humans, but precautions should be taken in CWD management areas. The Centers For Disease control recommend, hunters test deer harvested from Lowndes, Berrien, and Lanier counties. Animals that test positive for the disease should not be eaten.
Hunters in CWD management areas are urged to submit a deer sample for testing. The sample must include the deer’s head, without the antlers, with at least four inches of the deer’s neck. These samples can be dropped off at one of several test sites in Georgia. DNR officials will contact the owner within two to six weeks if the deer tests positive for CWD.
“When we routinely test otherwise healthy-looking deer from those counties any time, we get a positive test we can work with that landowner to collect some additional deer from that immediate area for testing. And that helps us identify the other deer that are most likely to be positive. In doing that continually over time it has been shown in other states to really limit the growth of the disease in the heard”
CWD symptoms may take eighteen to thirty months before signs are visible. This makes it harder to distinguish them from healthy animals.
Symptoms can look like:
- Dramatic weight loss
- Droopy head or ears
- Excessive Drooling
- May no longer fear humans
Killmaster recommends calling a local game management office if a deer is believed to be infected, before action is taken. Those hunting outside of CWD management areas are not asked to test deer for the disease. The animal can still be tested if the hunter chooses to do so.
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