Energy, Mines, and Resources
Agriculture
Disease Monitoring
The Yukon Agriculture Branch works with other government departments and industry to monitor animal and plant diseases.
Plant disease concerns should be brought to the attention of the Yukon Agrologist 867.667.5838.
Animal disease concerns should be brought to the attention of a local veterinarian:
- Alpine Veterinary Medical Centre 867.633.5700
- Copper Road Veterinary Clinic 867.633.5184
- Dawson Veterinary Clinic 867.993.6792
- Dr. Ken Kilpatrick 867.333.3138
- Lots of Latitude Mobile Veterinarian 867.333.9211
Chronic Wasting Disease
To monitor Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Yukon cervids the Yukon government implemented a Mandatory Chronic Wasting Disease Surveillance Program and a Voluntary Chronic Wasting Disease Certification Program in 2003.
CWD is a progressive, fatal, degenerative disease of the brain affecting cervids (elk, mule deer, reindeer and white-tailed deer).
CWD belongs to a group of related diseases called Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE's), which include Scrapie in sheep and goats, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in humans. CWD is not the same as BSE.
TSE's are caused by abnormal proteins, called prions, which accumulate in the brain. There is currently no treatment or vaccine available. In order to determine if an animal is CWD free, testing must be done post-mortem.
Testing from 2001-2005 shows that the Yukon has a disease free herd.
Farms included in the Certification Program with current status level (January 2007):
|
Farm |
Status Level |
| Sundog Wapiti Ranch |
C |
| Ford Elk Ranch |
A |
| Ford Game Farm |
A |
| Circle D Ranch |
A |
| Eldorado Game Ranch |
A |
|
Year |
CWD Tests |
Negative |
Total Animals |
% Tested |
|
2001 |
2 |
2 |
129 |
1.6% |
|
2002 |
17 |
17 |
191 |
8.9% |
|
2003 |
72 |
72 |
215 |
33.5% |
|
2004 |
26 |
26 |
141 |
18.4% |
|
2005 |
31 |
31 |
121 |
25.6% |
For further information on Chronic Wasting Disease, contact your local veterinarian, or consult the following webpages:
