The state has confirmed that chronic wasting disease has been found in Jackson County for the first time. A three-year-old doe tested positive for it in Spring Arbor Township. Land owners called the DNR after a sick-looking deer died on their property. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working to confirm those results.
CWD affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose. Infected animals are usually emaciated, lethargic and have drooping heads. They may allow humans to approach them. The disease has previously been confirmed in Ingham Clinton, Ionia, Kent and Montcalm counties. It was first found in Michigan in 2015. This would be the 58th confirmed case out of more than 31,000 deer tested.
There is no evidence that humans can be infected with CWD but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people not eat the meat of an infected animal.
