Chronic Wasting Disease Found In South Central PA

More bad news for the deer herd in Pennsylvania.  Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has now been found in hunter killed wild deer, 2 in Blair County and 1 in Bedford County.  This is the first time CWD has been found in wild, free ranging deer in Pennsylvania.  You will recall last year, CWD was found in a captive deer in Adams County, see post dated Friday, October 26, 2012.

Below is the news release from the Pennsylvania Game Commission.  This incidence is now governed by the Game Commission since it occurred in wild deer and not in captive deer on a deer farm.  Click here to go to the PA Game Commission CWD information page.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release #019-13 – March 1, 2013
For Information Contact: Joe Neville
717-787-4250 – ext. 3300

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE FOUND IN BLAIR AND BEDFORD COUNTIES

GAME COMMISSION TO HOLD CWD NEWS CONFERENCE MONDAY, MARCH 4

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Game Commission today confirmed three hunter-killed deer taken in the 2012 general firearms deer season have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Two were from Blair County; the other was from Bedford County.

“These are the first positive cases of CWD in free-ranging deer in Pennsylvania,” confirmed Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe. “The disease was first documented in early October, 2012, by the state Department of Agriculture in a captive deer on an Adams County deer farm.”

The three hunter-killed deer tissue samples were collected by Game Commission personnel during annual deer aging field checks during the general firearms season for deer. The samples were tested and identified as suspect positive by the Department of Agriculture as part of an ongoing annual statewide CWD surveillance program. The tissue samples were confirmed to be positive for CWD by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, as part of an established verification process.

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