UK Chronic Waste Disease (CWD) Surveillance Grant - Epidemiologic Risk Assessment of Farmed Cervids and Free Ranging Cervids in Kentucky

Kentucky is actively enhancing its ongoing surveillance of wild cervid populations, however, current regulations and management practices may not be adequate to prevent the introduction of CWD in Kentucky placing farmed cervid facilities at risk of infection from wild animals. A novel cooperative research proposal was developed in partnership with Kentucky Department of Agriculture and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to enhance our understanding of wildlife and farmed cervid interactions. This information will be invaluable for modeling CWD transmission dynamics and developing management recommendations at the state level but also applicable on a larger scale. To address these needs, Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA), the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR), and the University of Kentucky Department of Forestry and Natural Resources propose to collaborate to quantify and qualify the current risks associated with wild cervid populations in the vicinity of farmed cervid herds in Kentucky. This grant is providing funding to University of Kentucky to support project design, the purchase of specialized monitoring equipment, training Department of Agriculture staff on data collection techniques and camera maintenance, and for UK personnel time to analyze the direct observational data collected related to wild cervid and farmed cervid interactions and landscape assessment. The project will provide insights into potential risk factors for CWD introduction and spread on premises within Kentucky. Conclusions drawn from the project analysis will inform KDA’s enhanced herd management plans, policies, procedures and laws and regulations to better control CWD prevention efforts. Additionally, this data will provide insight and enhance KDFWR’s CWD prevention and management strategies. Ultimately, risk assessment data will be utilized to determine most effective biosecurity measures to prevent transmission of CWD