First Case of Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in Sussex Co. Deer: What You Need to Know

SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. – The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) has confirmed its first case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a wild white-tailed deer in Sussex County, with a second deer testing presumptive positive.

CWD has been reported in 37 states, including Maryland and Virginia, but this is the first time it has been detected on the Delmarva Peninsula.

What is CWD?

CWD, also known as “zombie deer disease,” is a fatal disease of the brain and nervous system affecting cervid species, including deer, elk and moose. It is caused by infectious, misfolded proteins called prions, and is typically found in cervids six months of age and older.

Scientists believe that CWD prions are spread between animals through bodily fluids, including saliva, blood, urine and feces, which can occur through direct contact or indirectly through contamination of soil, food or water. Subsequently, the disease can spread quickly amongst these species as they move from area to area searching for food sources. CWD can also be transmitted from doe to fawn in utero or during birth, and has been found in buck semen.

Currently, no treatments or vaccines are available for the disease.

How common is CWD?

DNREC announced the positive result on Tuesday after it was confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a hunter-harvested deer, sampled as part of routine surveillance. A second deer sampled this season, also found in Sussex County, has tested presumptive positive at the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System and is awaiting confirmation by the USDA.

The organization has conducted annual CWD surveillance since 2003, with 12,938 samples tested since then. The two positive samples were out of more than 600 sampled statewide from the 2025-2026 hunting season. CWD had not previously been found in Delaware.

What precautions should the public take?

Officials say that while there is no evidence the disease affects people, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends hunters who harvest deer, including white-tailed, red, sika, or mule, elk or moose, from an area where CWD has been confirmed have their animals tested for the disease before consuming the meat. Meat from an animal that tests positive should not be eaten.

The public can help slow the spread of CWD by taking these steps:

• Do not move live deer.
• Do not feed, bait or provide water for wild deer.
• Dispose of carcasses from Delaware at the landfill and do not bring whole carcasses into Delaware from out of state, nor move whole carcasses outside the CWD Management Area.
• Report sick or abnormal deer using DNREC’s Sick and Injured Wildlife Reporting Form. Signs may include weight loss, poor coordination, drooping ears, drooling, difficulty swallowing and frequent urination.
• Do not shoot, handle or eat animals that look sick or act strangely.
• Avoid touching or eating meat from animals discovered dead in the environment.
• Use synthetic deer urine products instead of natural ones and avoid pouring natural deer urine on the ground.

Although recreational deer harvest is closed for the season in Delaware, officials say farmers removing deer from their farms through Deer Damage Assistance Programs should follow precautions.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) is urging all cervid farms to maintain strict biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of their captive cervids coming into contact with wildlife, including checking the integrity of the farm’s boundary fences. Any animals that die on a captive cervid farm must be reported to the DDA Office of the State Veterinarian and to DNREC within one business day, and will be submitted to a USDA-approved laboratory for testing.

What is DNREC doing to prevent the spread?

Immediately following the positive confirmation, DNREC says they enacted their CWD Response Plan and established a CWD Management Zone within a 5-mile radius around where the deer was harvested. Cluster sampling in that area will occur to look for any additional cases nearby. Hunters who harvested deer in this area may be contacted directly with relevant information.

Delaware officials will work with wildlife disease experts to determine an appropriate sample size based on the situation on the ground. If more deer test positive, the response area will be expanded and additional sampling will follow. DNREC has posted CWD information as well as the response plan, and plans to hold a community meeting near the detection area so residents can ask questions and get updates. During the next deer hunting season, Delaware plans to require mandatory deer check-in at wildlife health check stations, when open, for CWD testing within the designated infection area, and may enact regulation changes designed to reduce the spread among wild deer.

DNREC will continue its long-standing surveillance to better understand the extent of the disease and monitor its spread. More information, including the state response plan, a map of the management area and public guidance, is available here.