Georgia Expands Chronic Wasting Disease Zone to Include Lowndes County
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) has officially incorporated Lowndes County into its Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) management area after a 2.5-year-old buck tested positive for the disease near the county’s southern border.
This discovery, reported in late September, occurred approximately five miles south of a January 2025 CWD detection in Lanier County, marking Georgia’s third confirmed case of the disease. The second positive case was identified in April 2025 in Berrien County, just 400 yards from the initial Lanier County detection.
Geographic Spread and Surveillance Measures
All three counties—Lowndes, Lanier, and Berrien—are contiguous and located in South Central Georgia, with Lowndes County directly bordering Florida.
In response, GDNR has expanded its enhanced surveillance efforts to cover a five-mile radius surrounding the latest positive detection. This zone includes portions of Lowndes, Lanier, and Berrien counties under the state’s CWD management plan.
GDNR is urging hunters to submit any harvested deer from this area for CWD testing to better monitor and contain the disease.
Expert Perspective on Disease Monitoring
Chronic Wasting Disease is a fatal neurodegenerative prion disease affecting cervids such as white-tailed deer, characterized by long incubation periods where animals often appear healthy despite being infectious.
Routine testing of apparently healthy deer is crucial for early detection. This practice enables wildlife managers to collaborate with landowners to mitigate the spread by removing infected individuals before transmission escalates.
Given the proximity of detections across multiple adjacent counties, this focused surveillance zone reflects the disease’s typical pattern of spatial expansion through natural deer movement and environmental contamination.
Biological Context
- CWD prions accumulate in lymphatic and nervous tissues, making post-mortem testing essential to confirm infection.
- The disease can persist in the environment for years through contaminated soil and bodily fluids, increasing challenges for control efforts.
- Infected deer may exhibit symptoms such as weight loss, abnormal behavior, and lack of coordination before succumbing to the disease.
Continued surveillance and hunter cooperation remain vital in managing this emerging wildlife health threat in Georgia’s deer populations.
Additional reporting and sources from: Georgia adds Lowndes County to CWD zone after deer tests positive within 5 miles of border | CIDRAP
