CWD found in PA deer farms!

**Dredly** · October 12th, 2012, 01:00 PM

HARRISBURG — The state's first case of chronic wasting disease has been found at a central Pennsylvania deer farm, and agriculture officials said Thursday they are working to prevent the fatal illness from spreading among animals.

Officials have quarantined the property in New Oxford, Adams County, where a white-tailed deer tested positive for the neurological disease. A farm in Williamsport, Lycoming County, and one in Dover, York County, are also quarantined due to direct links to the infected deer.

Pennsylvania is the 23rd state to have a confirmed case of the illness, which is deadly to deer, elk and moose, and can be spread among animals through bodily fluids.

There is no evidence the disease can be transmitted to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The disease has not been found in the state's wild deer population, said Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe.

"Concerns over (chronic wasting disease) should not prevent anyone from enjoying deer hunting and consuming meat from healthy animals." Roe said in a statement.

Still, Roe said that hunters should shoot only healthy-appearing animals, and take precautions like wearing rubber gloves when field-dressing their deer and washing thoroughly when finished.

Symptoms of chronic wasting disease include weight loss, excessive salivation, increased drinking and urination, and abnormal behavior like stumbling, trembling and depression. There is no cure or vaccine.

Public education and outreach efforts are being coordinated by a state task force that includes representatives of the departments of Agriculture, Environmental Protection and Health, as well as the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Chronic wasting disease was first discovered in Colorado captive mule deer in 1967. Pennsylvania has conducted surveillance for the illness since 1998.