Modeling infection probability of Chronic Wasting Disease in cervid populations under varying environmental conditions

Charlie Villhard, Kirkwood High School ‘27
Cristy Portales-Reyes, Biology Department, Saint Louis University

Presented at the Tyson Summer Research Symposium on July 30, 2026 at Tyson Research Center in Eureka, MO.

References

Literature:
Christensen, E. M. et al. Modeling chronic wasting disease transmission risk in mule deer related to habitat characteristics. PLoS One 21, e0346077 (2026).

Storm, D. J. et al. Deer density and disease prevalence influence transmission of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer. Ecosphere 4, 10 (2013).

Almberg, E. S., Cross, P. C., Johnson, C. J., Heisey, D. M. & Richards, B. J. Modeling routes of chronic wasting disease transmission: environmental prion persistence promotes deer population decline and extinction. PLoS One 6, e19896 (2011).

Plummer, I. H., Johnson, C. J., Chesney, A. R., Pedersen, J. A. & Samuel, M. D. Mineral licks as environmental reservoirs of chronic wasting disease prions. PLoS One 13, e0196745 (2018).

Images:
https://plainvalues.com/whitetail-deer/ 

https://extension.msstate.edu/natural-resources/wildlife/chronic-wasting-disease