The Michigan departments of Natural Resources and Agriculture and Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) will hold a series of town hall meetings across the state prior to the firearm deer hunting season for the public to learn more about Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and the state's response plan to manage the disease.

The meetings are scheduled for:

• Kalamazoo on Wednesday, Oct. 22. The meeting will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at Kalamazoo Valley Community College in the auditorium. The auditorium is located at 6767 9th St. in Kalamazoo.
• Marquette on Thursday, Oct. 23. The meeting will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Citizens Forum Room at Lakeview Arena, located at 401 E. Fair Ave. in Marquette.
• Frankenmuth on Monday, Oct. 27. The meeting will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Bronner Theater, located at 525 E. Genesee in Frankenmuth.
• Grayling on Wednesday, Oct. 29. The meeting will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Grayling High School, located at 1135 N. Old US-27.

At all meetings, staff from the DNR and MDA will present information on CWD and the state's emergency response plan for the disease. A question-and-answer session, facilitated by MSUE, will follow the presentations.

On Aug. 25, the DNR and MDA confirmed the state's first case of CWD in a three-year-old privately-owned white-tailed deer in Kent County. It is still unknown how the animal became infected.

CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects deer, elk and moose. Infected animals display abnormal behaviors, loss of bodily functions and a progressive weight loss. Current evidence suggests that the disease is transmitted through infectious, self-multiplying proteins (prions). Prions are normal cell proteins whose shape has been transformed, causing CWD. The disease is transmitted by exposure to saliva of infected animals. Susceptible animals can also acquire CWD by eating feces from an infected animal, or soil contaminated by them. Once contaminated, soil is thought to remain a source of infection for many years, making CWD a particularly difficult disease to eradicate.

More information about CWD is available online at www.michigan.gov/chronicwastingdisease.