A Third CWD-infected Deer Has Been Discovered In Southeastern Minnesota

A third deer infected with the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been found in southeastern Minnesota, according to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

A hunter harvested the deer in November about 5 miles north of were the two previously reported deer was killed, which is about 4 miles west of Lanesboro. An area taxidermist provided a sample for testing to the DNR.

The CWD is a fatal, transmissible disease which is common among the Deer family (deer, elk, moose). It was first proved as a clinical wasting syndrome in 1967 in mule deer in a wildlife research facility in northern Colorado, USA.

It is characterize by chronic weight loss leading to death but has not been proved to have any detrimental effects on human health or even other animals. However, reports have been made of human being affected by CWD but the Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that more laboratory researches are needed to monitor the possibility of such transmission.

Hunters in areas where CWD have been identified are advised as a precautionary measure, to avoid eating deer tissues which are known to harbor the CWD agent such as the brain, eyes, spinal cord, spleen, tonsils, and lymph nodes.

Prior to the recent discovery near Lanesboro, the only other wild deer with the disease found in Minnesota was harvested near Pine Island in 2010. However, this discovery will not change the current boundaries of the disease management zone, as the discovery was made within a known infected area, according to Star Tribune.

A special hunt for affected deer began Saturday in the permit area and will not end until January 15, 2017. Resident and even non-resident hunters and landowners are to use the unfilled Minnesota deer license during the hunt. Interested hunters who do not have the unfilled licenses can obtain one with any DNR license agent for $2.50.

 "We strongly encourage landowners to participate in the special hunt that begins December 31," the DNR's wildlife research manager Dr. Lou Cornicelli says. He promised that they will be allowed to take additional deer when the landowner shooting program begins January 16.

According to DNR News, this latest finding will affect the disease control zone as Dr. Paul Anderson of the Board of Animal Health noted that, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health which regulates farmed deer in the state has created a 10-mile disease control zone around the latest case.

There is a deer farm within the new zone and movement restrictions have been placed on the herd. However, the restrictions can be removed if a double fence is constructed on the farm, he added.