Company offers hunters another testing option for chronic wasting disease

Deer and elk hunters worried that the animals they harvested may have chronic wasting disease have a new testing option but it comes with important caveats.

Both Idaho and Washington provided CWD testing for hunters. In some geographic locations near known outbreaks of the disease, testing is mandatory. But hunters in both states can have their harvested animals tested, even if they were not taken from a CWD hot spot.

Right now it’s a free service, but it can take four to six weeks to get results. That can leave hunters in limbo, especially those eager to either start enjoying the meat or those who use commercial processors and would like results before they pay for their animals to be butchered.

The company Priogen now offers hunters an option with quicker results. Hunters can obtain a home testing kit they use to submit samples to the company for testing. According to the Priogen websites, customers get results within two weeks.

Another benefit of the Priogen testing option is that it doesn’t require lymph nodes or brain tissue. Instead, hunters can submit any muscle tissue, even meat that has been frozen or processed into products like sausage.

According to its website, Priogen uses the Real-time quaking-induced conversion testing method, or RT-QUIC for short, that was developed by the University of Minnesota. The company said the tests are more than 80% accurate.

The Priogen testing method is different from tests conducted at laboratories used by state wildlife agencies. Stacey Dauwalter, wildlife health program coordinator for Idaho Fish and Game, said people who are interested in the service provided by Priogen should be aware of differences in the testing methods. The RT-QUIC method has not been validated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and unvalidated testing may produce inconsistent results. In addition, she said it doesn’t rely on standardized sample collection locations and methods, another difference from USDA-validated testing methods.

“I think everyone in the research world is excited about (RT-QUIC). The technology looks promising,” she said. “We are just waiting for it to be validated and standardized so the results can be interpreted in a standardized way and we know what all the caveats are.”

Dauwalter acknowledged the state’s longer lag time between sample submission and results is a drawback for some hunters and the state is working to make the process as efficient as possible.

“We know it’s customer service and we want to get them the results. We try to keep on top of getting samples done and communicating with regional staff and doing everything we can to expedite the process,” she said. “We know there are people out there waiting to hear.”

Each fall, the state looks to see if there is an accredited lab that produces faster turnaround times. Idaho sends its samples to a lab at Colorado State University. The agency submits about 5,000 per year and Dauwalter said there are only a few labs with the capacity to handle that sort of volume.

“At the start of every season, we put feelers out to see if there are any labs that can offer a quicker turnaround time that can handle our numbers, and right now it’s Colorado State.”

The Priogen tests cost $59. While the state tests are free, Dauwalter said the cost to test one animal exceeds the price of a resident hunting license and deer tag.

More information on Idaho’s CWD surveillance and management program is available at idfg.idaho.gov/cwd. Details on Washington’s program can be found at bit.ly/3VEbJai. Priogen products can be purchased at bit.ly/3VCSGwO.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com.