Chronic wasting disease detected in deers in Central Illinois Counties
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — The Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced that it has identified an always-fatal neurological disease in more Illinois Counties.
Chronic wasting disease has now been detected in Peoria, Putnam, Marshall and Adams Countys, according to an IDNR news release.
The neurological disease that affects the long-term health of white-tailed deer was first identified in 2002.
Other Illinois counties the disease has been located in include Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Ford, Grundy, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, Livingston, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Will, and Winnebago Counties.
The IDNR monitors the disease and has kept levels low in deer heard for almost an entire generation of deer hunters.
'Illinois is a national leader in managing and slowing the spread of CWD, and over the past two decades, IDNR's program has served as a model for other states,' IDNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie said.
There have been no cases of chronic wasting disease transferring to humans, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends not eating meat from a deer that has tested positive for the disease and to avoid eating the deer's brain, eyes, and other tissues known to harbor the disease.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Steele among eight counties added to DNR's deer feeding and attractant ban
Jun. 18—The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has added eight counties, including Steele County, to a deer feeding and attractant ban to reduce the risk of chronic wasting disease spread, after CWD was detected in wild deer in new areas of the state last year. "The feeding and attractant ban is one tool to reduce unnatural congregating of deer and lower the risk of CWD spread," said Paul Burr, acting big game program coordinator. "We use this tool where it provides the greatest benefit to the health of Minnesota's white-tailed deer." Added to the feeding and attractant ban along with Steele are Anoka, Clay, Ramsey, Sherburne, Traverse, Wilkin and Wright counties. The ban now includes 32 Minnesota counties and remains in effect for Aitkin, Beltrami, Carver, Cass, Crow Wing, Dakota, Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Hennepin, Houston, Hubbard, Itasca, Le Sueur, Mower, Norman, Olmsted, Polk, Rice, Scott, Sibley, Wabasha, Washington and Winona counties. A map of the feeding and attractant ban area is available on the Minnesota DNR website ( The wording of the ban was clarified to prevent it from covering natural or manufactured products that do not have attractants added. This change allows hunters to use items such as non-scented ropes, mock scrapes with no scents added, and other items that were never intended to be covered under the deer feeding and attractant ban. In areas outside the ban, the Minnesota DNR recommends that the public not feed deer. People interested in helping deer should focus efforts on improving habitat to provide long-term food resources and shelter. For more information on how to improve private land for the benefit of deer and other wildlife, visit the Minnesota DNR website (
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Yahoo
Health care leaders featured at Eggs and Issues event
EAST PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — More than 160 people gathered for the East Peoria Chamber of Commerce Eggs and Issues series on health care Friday morning at the Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino. Health care is the region's single largest jobs sector, employing more than 31,100 people in 715 facilities in 2023, according to the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council and JobsEQ. Those are the latest regional statistics broken down by sector. The featured speakers at the Eggs and Issues included Dr. Meenakshy Aiyer, the regional dean at University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria (UICOMP); OSF Healthcare President Michelle Conger and Carle Health Greater Peoria Regional President Dr. Keith Knepp. Medical professional recruitment, retention, research and creative revenue solutions in the changing funding landscape were some the topics each health care system leader detailed. Aiyer said UICOMP is one of the largest medical schools in the country, with about 660 students, residents and fellows at any one time. That means it functions as the pipeline for the region's next health care providers. Conger and Knepp spoke to the many ways the medical care continuum is advancing. The topic for this event in the Eggs and Issues series covered one of a trio of economic drivers in Greater Peoria. Those drivers include healthcare broadly, business and industry, ag and agribusiness. Those areas are in no particular order, as some economists suggest these sectors of the regional economy are too interdependent to be ranked. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
CWD surveillance measures in effect for three KY counties
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Officials say new Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance measures are now in effect for Henderson, Union and Webster counties, following the detection of CWD in a deer harvested just across the Ohio River in Posey County, Indiana. Officials with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) say, in response, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission approved a CWD Surveillance Zone for the three counties, expanding the state's existing surveillance area, which includes Ballard, Breckinridge, Calloway, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Hardin, Hickman, Marshall, Meade and McCracken counties. The zone brings specific regulations to help limit the spread of the disease among deer. Board approves proposed tuition increases at Murray State, WKU Officials say these are the key regulations now in effect: Mandatory testing Hunters in Henderson, Union and Webster counties must bring deer harvested during the first three days of modern gun season, which is November 8 to 10, to a staffed check station or CWD Sample Drop-Off site for testing. Carcass transport limits Whole carcasses or high-risk parts from deer harvested in the zone cannot leave the three counties. Permitted items for transport include de-boned meat, clean skulls and teeth, antlers with or without a clean skull cap, hides and finished taxidermy mounts. Carcasses of deer harvested outside the zone may be brought in. Rehabilitation ban The rehabilitation of deer is prohibited within the surveillance zone. For the 2025–2026 deer season, under the authority of the commissioner, two key changes take effect in all counties that are designated within the CWD Surveillance Zone. According to officials, baiting is now allowed in all counties within the CWD Surveillance Zone, provided it is not distributed through contact feeders like troughs, funnels and gravity feeders without spreading capabilities. This change overrides the previous baiting ban, aiming to give hunters more opportunities to harvest deer while reducing deer densities. A statewide prohibition of feeding is still effective from March 1 through July 31. Also, feeding and baiting is illegal on all Wildlife Management Areas. Man identified after drowning in Pike County lake KDFWR says while permitted with limitations, baiting promotes unnatural congregation of deer, increasing the risk of CWD transmission through saliva, urine and feces from infected animals. Hunters should weigh this risk before choosing to bait. Officials also note to manage deer populations and improve disease monitoring, a special two-day antlerless-only gun season will be held on September 27 through 28, in all CWD Surveillance Zone counties. During this special season, hunters are required to drop off the head of harvested deer to a CWD Sample Drop-off site. Hunters may harvest any deer without visible antlers, including button bucks. However, no deer hunters—whether using firearms, bows or crossbows—may take an antlered buck in a CWD Surveillance Zone county during this weekend. Hunter orange requirements are in effect during this season. According to KDFWR, Chronic Wasting Disease is caused by abnormal proteins called prions and affects white-tailed deer, elk and other animals in the deer family. There is no known cure or vaccine, and the disease is always fatal in infected animals. The disease is not known to be transmissible to people, but as a precaution the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends not consuming meat from deer that test positive for the disease. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife always recommends not consuming meat taken from animals that appear to be sick or in poor condition. Lincoln State Park to close some facilities for dam repair Officials say hunters all across Kentucky are encouraged to submit samples through the CWD Sample Drop-Off sites or CWD Sample Mail-in Kits at any time during the hunting season. The test comes at no monetary cost to the hunter, and results are typically returned within four to six weeks. Back in February, there was a second positive case of CWD confirmed in Posey County. The infected, wild, white-tailed deer was a 2.5-year-old male harvested in Posey County. The deer was confirmed positive for CWD by two independent tests. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
