LSU Diagnostics collaborates with state partners to detect Chronic Wasting Disease in deer

LSU Diagnostics (Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab) has partnered with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries (LDWF) to provide surveillance testing for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) since 2019. Through this partnership, LDWF detected CWD in deer at the Mississippi/Louisiana border for the first time in 2022. Since 2019, LADDL has performed more than 15,000 tests, including 3,278 in the 2025-2026 deer hunting season. Since its first detection in 2022, the number of confirmed cases in the state's wild deer population has risen to 49. LSU Diagnostics also supports CWD testing for the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) and testing is available for any other interested party in the state of Louisiana and beyond.

In recent years, LSU Diagnostics has received significant support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand CWD testing capacity. This funding allowed LSU Diagnostics to upgrade its prior system for CWD-testing so that it can more than triple CWD surveillance testing capacity and efficiency in Louisiana. Additionally, Mariano Carossino, DVM, Ph.D., DACVM, DACVP, associate professor of veterinary pathology at LSU Vet Med and section head of the Histology and Immunohistochemistry Section in LSU Diagnostics, has received funding from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) through the Chronic Wasting Disease Management and Response Funding Opportunity for research focused on improving CWD testing to enhance early detection of CWD.  

CWD is an infectious, degenerative disease of cervids (deer) caused by prions. Animals infected with CWD do not display symptoms until advanced stages of the disease and can transmit disease to other deer, making surveillance and testing for the disease in the population very important. In the 2024-2025 deer hunting season, 213,000 Louisiana deer hunters harvested an estimated 239,000 white-tailed deer. Deer harvest has significantly increased during the past 12 years. In Louisiana, white-tailed deer herd health and disease surveillance are managed by the LDWF. 

Although CWD has not been shown to be contagious to humans, the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization recommend against the human consumption of deer known to be infected with CWD. Also, it is recommended that people hunting in areas known to harbor CWD-infected deer have their deer tested for the disease prior to consuming the animals. LDWF will provide testing for hunter-harvested deer free of charge. Hunters desiring to have their harvested deer tested for CWD can contact local LDWF Field Offices to have their deer tested.  

The LDWF and LSU Diagnostics have a joint interest in diseases that affect white-tailed deer, including CWD. Samples are collected from hunter-harvested deer and target deer, including symptomatic deer and pen escapes. The samples are then sent to LSU Diagnostics for testing.

About LSU Diagnostics

LSU Diagnostics (Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab) is a full-service AAVLD-accredited laboratory. Housed in the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, LSU Diagnostics services the people of Louisiana and surrounding states by providing animal disease diagnostic services to agricultural and general communities. LSU Diagnostics enhances research development and adaptation of diagnostic tests and protocols, researches and investigates livestock and companion animal diseases impacting the health and wellbeing of the animals and citizens of Louisiana, and researches selective diseases impacting the economics on the animal industries of Louisiana. LSU Diagnostics operates in partnership with Louisiana State University, the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana veterinarians, and livestock and poultry producers. 

About LSU Vet Med: Bettering lives through education, public service, and discovery

The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is one of only 33 veterinary schools in the U.S. and the only one in Louisiana. LSU Vet Med is dedicated to improving and protecting the lives of animals and people through superior education, transformational research, and compassionate care. We teach. We heal. We discover. We protect.