Study shows how chronic wasting disease spreads in state

MADISON, Wis. — A study has shed light on how chronic wasting disease is spreading through Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Public Radio reported that the student from the U.S. Geological Survey studied chronic wasting disease data from 2002 to 2014 and developed more accurate system to predict how the fatal brain disease found in deer could advance in an area of southwestern Wisconsin near the Wisconsin River.

Katherine Richgels, applied wildlife health research branch chief for the National Wildlife Health Center, says researchers found several factors linked to the disease’s spread. She says it’s more likely to spread through denser forests and that river corridors seem to block it.

The study found the disease spreads twice as fast in those areas compared to other types, such as agricultural land.

Richgels says the disease remains a threat throughout Wisconsin.

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