Fatal ‘zombie deer’ disease found in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

WASHINGTON – Two white-tailed deer inside Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia have tested positive for the fatal Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), the National Park Service (NPS) announced Tuesday.

This marks the first CWD-positive detection for a national park in the state of West Virginia, the NPS added.

CWD is a highly contagious, fatal disease that affects animals such as deer, moose, elk and reindeer, causing physiological and behavioral changes, starvation and then death.

The NPS says some of those behavioral changes include depression, altered gait, head tremors and circling.

Those behaviors are the reason why animals infected with CWD have unofficially been called “zombie deer.”

The latest discovery came during recent white-tailed deer reduction operations and the subsequent disease sampling, and both animals were from portions of the park in Jefferson County, West Virginia.

Two nearby national parks in Maryland – Antietam and Monocacy national battlefields – also recently saw their first CWD-positive test results in early March.

The NPS said Harpers Ferry and other national parks in the area reduce deer populations to protect and restore native plants and preserve historic landscapes.

The national parks in Washington, D.C., Maryland and West Virginia that conduct deer reduction operations also participate in the CWD-monitoring programs.

Until this year, all results for parks in those locations had been negative.

The NPS says that there is currently no evidence to suggest that CWD can infect humans.

However, it’s recommended that tissue from CWD-infected animals not be eaten.

Whenever it’s possible, the NPS said it donates all venison from its deer reduction operations to local food banks.

But all CWD-positive meat is destroyed.

The NPS said it will continue to monitor collected deer for CWD and will destroy all venison that has tested positive for CWD.