Manitoba has five more positive cases for chronic wasting disease, two of which came from areas where the illness has never been found in deer before.
WHY IT MATTERS : Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease that targets cervid species like deer, elk and moose. It was first confirmed in Manitoba in 2021. It is not considered a health risk to humans.
The cases were announced by the Province of Manitoba Dec. 22. Infected animals from the two new areas were killed in the RM of Swan Valley West, north of Duck Mountain National Park, and RM of Victoria southeast of Carberry.
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Three other cases of chronic wasting disease were found in regions where cases had previously been detected. Two new cases were found near Coulter in the RM of Two Borders. One was found near the community of Dropmore in the Parkland region.
The new cases bring Manitoba’s CWD count up to 35, 26 of which were mule deer, while the remaining nine were white-tailed deer. The five new cases included three mule deer and two white-tailed deer.
In recent years, Manitoba has expanded surveillance for the disease by testing hunted deer. In 2024-25, the program tested about 3,100 samples. The province says the 2025-2026 program has so far tested over 2,500 samples.
