First Detection of Chronic Wasting Disease in a Wild Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) in Europe

Abstract

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal contagious prion disease naturally occurring in cervids in North America. In 2016, CWD was detected in wild reindeer (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>) and moose (<i>Alces alces</i>) in Norway. Here, we report the first known naturally infected wild Norwegian red deer (<i>Cervus elaphus</i>).