More instances of chronic wasting disease discovered

SALT LAKE CITY — Two buck deer taken during this year's Utah muzzleloader hunt have tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), the Division of Wildlife Resources announced Oct. 17.

The first deer was a yearling buck taken near the south end of Flaming Gorge Reservoir. This is the first CWD-positive deer found in Daggett County. Other CWD-positive deer have been found in the past just 20 miles to the south, near Vernal.

The second deer to test positive was a mature buck taken on the LaSal Mountains in southeastern Utah.

Both of the hunters who took the deer have been notified that their animals tested positive for CWD.

"We've tested approximately 450 deer and elk so far this year, and these are the only animals that have tested positive for CWD," said Leslie McFarlane, wildlife disease specialist for the DWR. "Nearly all of the testing has been completed on samples collected during the archery and muzzleloader hunts. We expect to collect nearly 2,000 samples during the rifle deer hunt that starts this weekend."

The Utah Veterinary Diagnositic Laboratory in Logan is testing the samples for the DWR.

The latest finds bring to 20 the number of deer that have tested positive for CWD since the disease was first found in Utah in February 2003. Fourteen of the 20 deer have come from the LaSal Mountain area, where DWR biologists estimate about two percent of the deer have the disease.

Of the remaining deer, four came from the Vernal area, one was taken near the south end of Flaming Gorge, and one was killed near Fountain Green in central Utah.

CWD is fatal to deer and elk that contract it. However, according to the World Health Organization, "There is currently no evidence that CWD in cervidae (deer and elk) is transmitted to humans."

For more information about CWD, see the chronic wasting disease section of this Web site.