Elk disease discovered in counties near Tri-Cities

Elk hoof disease has been found in the Blue Mountains of Walla Walla County, according to the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The crippling hoof disease has now been found in counties on either side of Benton County.

The first cases on the east side of the Cascade Mountains were confirmed in spring 2018 on the west end of Klickitat County, which borders Benton County.

The new case found in Walla Walla County was in an elk shot Jan. 17 by a muzzleloader hunter in the Pikes Peak area. He noticed the animals deformed hooves and sent them to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The state has had reports of the hoof disease in Western Washington since the early 2000s and now has confirmed cases in 14 counties, in addition to cases in Oregon and Idaho.

The bacterial illness appears to be highly infectious and may spread from animal to animal or as elk leave bacteria in moist soil that other elk walk through. There is currently no vaccine or proven method to treat the disease in the field.

It is not known to affect people.

Hunters and others who see limping elk or elk with abnormal hooves are asked to report them at bit.ly/elkhoof.

This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 7:33 PM.