Research into chronic wasting disease (CWD) by the University of Saskatchewan has received financial backing from the provincial government.

Earlier this week the province elected to commit $90,000 for the project that will study the spread of CWD and meningeal worm in woodland caribou and other boreal species.

Dr. Phil McLoughlin and a team will head up the three-year analysis that's aimed at providing more insight into how dangerous the two diseases are for the at-risk species in the boreal forest.

"The government recognizes the importance of investigating the health of caribou populations," Iga Stasiak, a wildlife specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, said. "Caribou are a threatened species across Canada and of course are facing numerous pressures. One of the risks to caribou is the issue of emerging infectious diseases and both of these diseases have the potential to impact the caribou population."

Part of the research will focus on population dynamics among deer in the caribou region. The cause for concern lies within infected white-tail deer roaming from the farmland into the boreal forest.

"That [research] includes habitat overlap, habitat preferences between the two species so that we can develop a risk assessment model that can be used to figure out if this is a significant risk," she explained.  

The project will use state-of-the-art radio collars and trail cameras, allowing researchers the chance to understand animal movement and a finer grasp of transmission. 

At the beginning of 2022, Saskatchewan pledged $400,000 for the research and development of an oral vaccine to prevent CWD.

"The Ministry has also collaborated with academic researchers on a number of studies pertaining to CWD over the years, including the persistence of CWD prions in soil and genetic susceptibility of caribou to CWD," the Ministry of Environment said via email.

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