Two adult male deer in Luzerne County tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), according to a press release from the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
The neurological disease is always fatal. It’s caused by prions, which are misfolded proteins in mammals’ brains, according to the release. The disease is similar to mad cow disease in cattle and is a threat to deer and elk.
One deer with the disease was hunter-harvested and the other was from a captive facility.
The state’s Department of Agriculture placed the farm under a quarantine order for five years. The press release does not give the name of the farm. The order requires the farm to test any additional deer that die on the farm, and not transfer any deer on or off the farm
The disease spreads through direct animal-to-animal contact and indirectly through prion-contaminated environments.
The game commission is hosting an informational meeting to answer any questions from the public. It is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Penn State Hazleton, Graham Building, Room 115. The campus is located at 76 University Drive, Hazleton.
To report a case or for more details, contact the Game Commission’s CWD Hotline at 1-833-INFOCWD, email INFOCWD@pa.gov or visit www.arcg.is/1G4TLr.
— Kat Bolus