Chronic Wasting Disease Discovered at Deer Breeding Facilities AUSTIN – Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been discovered in deer breeding facilities in both Matagorda and Mason counties. This marks the first positive detection of the disease in these counties. An epidemiological investigation found that both deer breeding facilities had received deer from a Uvalde County premises where CWD was found on March 29. Postmortem tissues samples were submitted by the permitted deer breeders to assist the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) with the epidemiological investigation. The National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, has since confirmed CWD in those tissue samples.