Research and outreach aimed at surveilling, detecting, and mitigating a fatal neurological disorder impacting deer and other cervid populations in Minnesota will receive a boost thanks to state funding. 

A project to advance testing and surveillance efforts for chronic wasting disease (CWD) led by the Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach (MNPRO) has been awarded $2.2 million in funding by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources. The grant, which will be disbursed from the state’s Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, will allow MNPRO to continue its groundbreaking work in understanding the disease and its spread. 

“Where CWD has become established, deer populations have declined, and hunting traditions disrupted,” says Tiffany Wolf, MNPRO co-director and associate professor at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. “CWD is now endemic in southeastern Minnesota and new cases continue to be detected elsewhere in the state. The threat of CWD has never been greater to the health of Minnesota’s moose, elk, and deer, and the economies and lives they sustain.”

The disease is caused by prions, which are proteins present in all mammals that help cells in the body to function normally. When the folded structure of these prions is compromised, they cause the destruction of brain cells and eventual signs of illness such as emaciation, neurological impairment and abnormal behavior in affected animals. These misfolded prions also remain in the environment for years.  

With the funding, MNPRO seeks to: 

• Use new protocols to detect CWD prions in soil and dust particles and analyze how the prions bind to these particles and spread contamination in the environment. 
• Sustain the CWD Tribal Surveillance Network, which has operated in collaboration with MNPRO since 2020 and has helped expand surveillance across Minnesota. The team estimates 1,200 deer harvested across nine Tribal agencies would be tested as part of this effort. 
• Continue screening live and deceased deer in study sites across the state and use that data to create models that enhance understanding of disease transmission and outbreak potential in different locations.
• Connect with even more people to educate them about CWD and information they can use to inform their decisions about where to hunt and how to do so responsibly, about interacting with deer in situations such as feeding, and about venison processing and consumption.

This grant is the latest in investment by the state in CWD research led by MNPRO, which has fueled innovation in detection technology and allowed the team to spread awareness about the disease through scientific publications and outreach. As part of those outreach efforts, MNPRO has held events that have connected more than 130,000 Minnesotans and Tribal members with its work. 

“The stage is set for us to advance into a new phase in the fight against CWD,” Wolf says.