Mississippi adds 28 more CWD-confirmed deer

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks has reported that it has tested a total of 7,188 deer since July 1, 2020, with 28 confirmed cases of Chronic Wasting Disease. There is one suspect case awaiting confirmation.

Two new counties — Alcorn and Tippah — were added to the list with confirmed cases since the first CWD deer was found in Issaquena County in February 2018. Alcorn and Tippah were already within the North Mississippi CWD Management Zone.

Mississippi has a total number of positive cases to 82 since 2018.

Of the 28 confirmed since last July, 22 came from Benton County on the Tennessee border. Benton County had 26 the previous year and has 55 cases since 2019. That represents 67% of all confirmed Mississippi cases.

Neighboring Marshall County follows with 20 cases, or 24% of the total. Marshall had four cases confirmed since July, compared to nine the previous year and seven the year before.

Alcorn and Tippah County were the only other counties with a positive result since July, with one case each. Like Benton and Marshall, Alcorn and Tippah share a northern border with Tennessee, directly across the line from that state’s CWD hot zone of Fayette and Hardeman counties. The Alcorn case is a little more alarming, because it was located east of those two Tennessee counties, albeit less than 20 miles, but due south of what is considered a high-risk county, or one that is within 10 miles of a county with a positive case.

About Bobby Cleveland 1343 Articles
Bobby Cleveland has covered sports in Mississippi for over 40 years. A native of Hattiesburg and graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Cleveland lives on Ross Barnett Reservoir near Jackson with his wife Pam.

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