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Project 1904 - CWD Research for Skin Testing on Farmed Elk

In April 2019, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry shared the news that a farmed elk bull had tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease. The bull was two years old and was injured during routine herd maintenance, which resulted in the animal's death. LEARN MORE

ERF Project 1904 teams the ERF with Dr. Justin Greenlee of USDA ARS (Agricultural Research Service). USDA ARS is the research wing of USDA that has decades of research regarding CWD and other prion diseases.

Dr. Greenlee requested samples from the Oklahoma herd as ARS is working toward a live test using skin samples (samples harvested from the ear). The ARS study, currently underway for whitetail deer, will hopefully become a parallel study for elk with the samples harvested in the Oklahoma herd. The ERF will share any updates of progress as Dr. Greenlee uses the samples in the study.

The herd's depopulation in June 2019 allows samples to be harvested for Dr. Haley. The ERF sincerely thanks the herd owners, Dr. Justin Roach and Dr. Rod Hall of ODAFF, Dr. Justin Greenlee of USDA ARS and Drs. Tracy Nichols and Nancy Hannaway of USDA APHIS that helped make this research possible.