Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a disease that can affect wild and captive cervids (deer, elk, moose, and caribou) in Iowa and is transmitted by a misfolded prion protein shed in saliva, nasal secretions, and other excreta. 

Prions are normal host proteins found throughout the body, however exposure to the infectious form can force a conformational shift that causes prions to aggregate in the brain. Prion diseases are uniformly fatal and pose a risk to long-term herd health in populations afflicted by this disease.
 

Search CWD Test Results

What Hunters Need to Know

• Iowa CWD Response Plan (2025 - 2030) (998.55 KB) .pdf
• Chronic Wasting Disease, Iowa Guide (CWD) (974.4 KB) .pdf
• Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Interactive Dashboard

First detected in Allamakee County in 2013, CWD has been slowly increasing its footprint to include 39 counties and 715 positive wild deer. The Iowa DNR has been monitoring for CWD since 2002, then increased its effort in the immediate area surrounding the positive deer to help determine the presence and prevalence of the disease.

CWD Response Objective:

"Document the spread of CWD while balancing deer herd health with quality hunting opportunities, for as long as possible, while preparing Iowans for our future with CWD."

How does CWD spread?

CWD spreads through both direct and indirect transmission. Deer can become infected through direct contact with infected deer or exposure to bodily fluids such as saliva, urine, and feces. As a result, transmission rates may increase where deer densities and contact rates are high.

CWD can also spread indirectly through the environment. Abnormal prion proteins shed by infected deer can persist in soils and other environmental reservoirs for years and remain capable of infecting other deer. Because environmental transmission can occur even at lower deer densities, reducing deer density is unlikely to eliminate CWD from an infected wild deer population.

Does CWD have a vaccine?

No. There is currently no approved vaccine, treatment, or cure for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in wild deer. Once CWD becomes established in a free-ranging deer population, eliminating the disease from that population is extremely difficult.

In Iowa, CWD response focuses on maintaining balanced deer populations, monitoring disease occurrence, and minimizing impacts to deer populations and hunting opportunities. Research and management efforts across North America have shown that eliminating CWD from established wild deer populations has not been achieved through harvest-based management. Long-term disease outcomes can vary depending on local conditions, deer populations, and management strategies.

Deer Management Zones

The Iowa DNR has created a number of special deer management zones that offer voluntary opportunities for hunters who are willing to harvest deer in specific areas. 

These deer management zones allow hunters additional opportunities to pursue deer while assisting the Iowa DNR with population management and collecting disease surveillance data. Each zone has its own antlerless licenses specific to the area, in addition to any existing county quota. Please refer to the Deer Population Management Zone Hunts for maps and additional license information. 

Carcass Transport

Under Iowa law, hunters cannot transport into the state the whole carcass of any cervid (i.e., deer, elk, moose) taken from a CWD-infected area. Only the boned-out meat, the cape, and antlers attached to a clean skull plate (from which all brain tissue has been removed) are legal to transport into Iowa. 

Surveillance & Reporting

The Iowa DNR has developed an interactive Dashboard to share information about CWD Positives in Iowa, Positive Sample Statistics, and Surveillance Data from current and previous seasons. 

• Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Interactive Dashboard 

Submit a CWD Sample

We test for CWD in free-ranging white-tailed deer using the medial retropharyngeal lymph node, which requires a cut to the neck right behind the jaw. If you intend to mount your harvest, you can work with your taxidermist to pull a sample. Otherwise, you can bring an intact carcass or contact your local DNR Wildlife Biologist (328.11 KB) .pdf so our field staff can pull your sample. 

Additionally, if you are interested in learning how to collect your own sample, check out the video and other resources produced by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Since lymph nodes come in pairs, only one “A” lymph node will go to the lab for testing. Hunters should retain the “B” lymph node until results have been released.

• CWD testing through the hunter submission pathway

Please note, cervids harvested outside of Iowa are also eligible for testing through the VDL. For elk, both brainstem (obex) and lymph node must be screened.