CWD surveillance map
All investigated wild deer are mapped.
CWD cases in moose in Sweden
In March 2019, SVA diagnosed the first case of CWD in Sweden. A 16-year-old emaciated female moose (Alces alces) was found in the municipality of Arjeplog in the county of Norrbotten, circling and with loss of shyness towards humans, possibly blind. The moose was euthanised and the head was sent for CWD screening in the national CWD surveillance program. The brainstem tissue, but not lymph nodes, were positive for CWD (confirmed with Western Blot).
In May 2019, a second case of CWD was detected in Sweden. As in the first case, it was a 16-year-old female moose in Norrbotten county. The moose was euthanised after being observed emaciated, and with behavioural changes. Similar to the first case, the brainstem tissue, but not lymph nodes, were positive for CWD (confirmed with Western Blot).
In September 2019, a third case of CWD was detected in Sweden. It was an apparently healthy hunted 10-year-old moose sampled within the ongoing extended sampling in the county of Norrbotten, initiated due to the first two cases. Similar to the first two cases, the brainstem tissue, but not lymph nodes, were positive for CWD (confirmed with Western Blot).
In September 2020, a fourth case of CWD was detected in Sweden. It was a fourteen-year-old female moose from the County of Västerbotten, sampled within the ongoing national surveillance programme. The moose was euthanised after being observed lame, using only three legs. Similar to the three first cases, the brainstem tissue, but not lymph nodes, were positive for CWD (confirmed with Western Blot).
Conclusions
All moose cases in Sweden are similar to cases in moose in Norway and in Finland, and are presumed to be a more sporadic, atypical variant of CWD. Research is ongoing to further type this sporadic type of CWD in Nordic moose, that differs from the contagious classical type of CWD in North America and in wild reindeer in Norway.