PAYSON, Utah (ABC4) — Chronic wasting disease, which officials say appears to be spreading across deer and elk in Utah, has been found for the first time in Payson.

Chronic wasting disease, according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, is a relatively rare transmissible disease that affects the nervous systems of deer, elk, and moose. Infected animals develop brain lesions, become emaciated, and can have low energy and droopy ears. They may also salivate excessively and eventually die, the DWR said.

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The disease was first detected in Utah in 2002 in a buck deer harvested during a rifle hunt in Vernal, the DWR said.

The DWR reportedly monitors for the spread of chronic wasting disease in big game animals across Utah. They conduct check stations each fall during the general season rifle deer hunts, testing harvested deer in specific hunting units.

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The samples taken from this year’s check were taken to the Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Logan.

According to the DWR, between July 1 and Nov. 28, DWR biologists confirmed 26 positive cases of chronic wasting disease, including 25 deer and one elk. Of those animals, 18 were harvested by hunters, five were found dead, and three were sick animals that were reported and euthanized by the DWR.

State Wildlife Veterinarian Ginger Stout said the disease appears to be spreading as the DWR is finding the disease in new areas.

“We are continuing to do extensive monitoring and trying different hunting strategies to stay on top of the disease and its prevalence in the state,” Stout said.

The majority of these positive cases were from northeastern Utah, but a positive deer was also located in Payson — a new area for the disease.

Additionally, three deer in Moab tested positive, which the DWR said is an “ongoing hotspot for the disease.” Two deer from North Salt Lake were also among the positive cases, which the DWR said is another recent hotspot, as a deer tested positive for the first time there last year.

Currently, 188 mule deer and four elk deer have tested positive for the disease in Utah, the DWR said.

According to the DWR, chronic wasting disease is caused by a misfolded protein, called a prion, that aggregates in the brain and spinal cord.

Infected animals may shed prions in their urine, feces, and saliva. Transmission can happen directly through contact, or indirectly through environmental contamination. According to the DWR, prions are “extremely resilient” in the environment and can stay infectious for years.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the risk of transmission from animals to humans is extremely low, they recommend not consuming meat from infected animals.

If you see any deer that appear sick, please report it to the nearest DWR office.

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