On Feb. 25, the Animal Health Diagnostic Center (AHDC) hosted a chronic wasting disease (CWD) lecture and wet lab for the College of Veterinary Medicine community, in collaboration with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (AGM). This annual wet lab, led by the Cornell Wildlife Health Lab, is offered in partnership with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, as part of the NYS Wildlife Health Program’s mission to protect free-ranging white-tailed deer and moose populations from CWD across the state. 

This event was organized by students in the Wildlife Disease Association student chapter and was a two-fold experience. After a sponsored dinner, attendees had lectures on wildlife diseases, with a focus on CWD, a prion disease that remains in the environment, has no treatment options, and threatens cervid species at the population level. After the lecture, there was a hands-on laboratory where participants went on the necropsy floor to collect CWD samples from white-tailed deer heads provided by the DEC. AHDC faculty included Dr. Krysten Schuler, an expert in CWD surveillance, response and prevention; Dr. Jenny Bloodgood, wildlife veterinarian; and Drs. Elizabeth Buckles and Darian Giannino, anatomic pathologists, sharing their expertise on assessing wildlife risks.

This unique opportunity provides practical training in methods for extracting CWD samples —  what and where to take them from — as well as aging deer by tooth wear and replacement, and examining the brain/skull for P. tenuis (brainworm), a threat to New York’s moose population.

This year’s training included 25 Cornell D.V.M. wildlife-focused students, along with AGM field veterinarians and visiting wildlife conservation students.

Written by Jennifer Peaslee