DNR reports Gladwin County’s first CWD-positive wild deer

Gladwin is now the 18th Michigan county where chronic wasting disease has been identified in the wild deer population, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. A hunter-harvested deer from Clement Township recently tested positive for the disease.

The Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory confirmed the CWD finding. The sample was also sent for a secondary confirmation to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, where results are pending but anticipated to confirm CWD infection.

CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer, elk and moose. To date, the disease has also been detected in the following Michigan counties: Allegan, Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Genesee, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Jackson, Kent, Mecosta, Midland, Montcalm, Ogemaw and Washtenaw.

A chronic, slow-developing disease that spreads slowly across the landscape, CWD has been detected in Midland County to the south of Gladwin and in Ogemaw County to the north. Gladwin County was under focused CWD surveillance in 2021, as part of the DNR’s rotational approach to surveillance.

“The detection of chronic wasting disease in Gladwin County is consistent with the slow, incremental spread we have observed across Michigan,” said Brent Rudolph, DNR deer, elk and moose management specialist. “New positive results can be alarming for nearby communities and frustrating as the total count continues to grow, but these detections are critical to our understanding of the scope of chronic wasting disease in our state. We greatly appreciate hunters’ continued persistence in submitting samples for testing.”

The public is encouraged to report sick deer at Michigan.gov/EyesInTheField. Deer that appear emaciated, lethargic, disoriented, lame or unresponsive are good candidates for CWD testing, though these symptoms are characteristic of deer affected by other maladies or injuries as well.

Health and safety recommendations

To date, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in people. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that infected animals not be consumed as food by either humans or domestic animals. Hunters should take precautions when field-dressing or processing deer: wear rubber gloves, minimize contact with the deer’s brain and spinal tissue, and wash hands with soap and warm water after handling any parts of the carcass.

Proper disposal of deer carcasses is critical to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease. Deer carcasses and parts should go directly to a landfill or be disposed of through regular bagged trash pickup. Studies show that CWD can survive on the landscape for years, contributing to the spread of disease. Deer harvested from known CWD areas should never be disposed of on the landscape.

Focused disease surveillance and hunter-harvested sampling

Data analysis of focused surveillance efforts for 2025 is underway and results will be available in April. Plans for 2026 surveillance are in progress. Additional information on CWD testing in 2026, including locations of DNR drop boxes and staffed sample submission sites, will be posted on the CWD testing webpage once finalized.

Free self-sample submission kits have been made available in all counties outside of the DNR bovine tuberculosis and CWD surveillance areas. Kits allow hunters to remove lymph nodes and ship them directly to the MSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at no cost. During the 2025 season, hunters could pick up kits at local distribution sites listed on the CWD testing webpage. Testing is also available for a fee through direct submission to a cooperating USDA-approved diagnostic laboratory.

All deer from counties with previous confirmed cases of CWD or bTB that are donated to the Hunters Feeding Michigan program are also submitted directly to the MSU lab for testing.

The DNR’s work with researchers and hunters to detect and slow the spread of CWD is possible because of limited general fund dollars allocated by the Michigan Legislature.

Michigan’s CWD testing strategy

Testing has identified a total of 376 CWD-positive wild deer in Michigan out of about 148,800 tested. Samples have been collected through a variety of efforts, including focused testing of hunter-harvested deer, response to public reports of sick deer, direct hunter submissions of deer to the MSU lab, and testing of donated deer.

The DNR began surveillance efforts for CWD in Michigan’s wild deer in 2002, and the disease was first detected in Michigan in 2015. After initial intensive testing near the first CWD detections in the state, the DNR began a rotational approach to testing harvested deer in 2021.

Each year, a group of counties is selected, with the aim of collecting a baseline dataset for each Michigan county. The goal of this approach is early disease detection, as management has the potential to be most effective when CWD is caught early. This method also provides confidence that if the disease is present but undetected in these areas, it is likely at a very low level.

For more information on chronic wasting disease, visit Michigan.gov/CWD.

A variety of white-tailed deer photos are available in the DNR's public image gallery.