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CWD Public Meeting to Be Held Wednesday Night

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Representatives from the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the state Department of Agriculture will be on hand for a public meeting Wednesday evening at Bermudian Springs High School in Adams County. The subject will be the recent positive test for Chronic Wasting Disease in a captive deer on an Adams County farm.

This is the first case of CWD confirmed in Pennsylvania, and officials say there is no evidence that it has spread to the wild deer population. Still, this meeting will provide valuable information to hunters regarding quarantines and other steps being taken to monitor the deer population in and around the affected areas. Three farms are under the current Department of Agriculture quarantine order. All three locations were known to have been in contact with the one deer that has tested positive in Adams County. The other two farms are located in York and Lycoming counties.

CWD is not a threat to human health, according to the Centers for Disease Control, but Game Commission officials urge that it’s never a good idea to eat the meat from a sickly-looking animal. Additionally, officials are asking hunters not to shoot a deer that appears sick, but rather to report the location to the Game Commission as quickly as possible so that the animal can be found alive. The Commission says that aids in testing the animal for diseases like CWD.

The public meeting is being held Wednesday evening at 7:00pm at Bermudian Springs High School, 7335 Carlisle Pike in York Springs.

Chronic Wasting Disease Found in Pennsylvania

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Pennsylvania’s luck at keeping Chronic Wasting Disease at bay has run out, its aggressive surveillance program has found a case on an Adams County deer farm.

The positive sample came from a white tailed deer at a farm in New Oxford. As a result, the state has also quarantined two other farms directly associated with the infected deer, in Williamsport, Lycoming County and Dover, York County.

Steps are being taken to prevent further spread of the disease. A task force will carry out a response plan, including education and public outreach.

CWD is fatal in deer and other cervids but there is no evidence it can be transmitted to humans. Pennsylvania is the 23rd state to detect the disease.  It was already present in the neighboring states of Maryland, New York and West Virginia. To date, CWD has not been found in the wild deer population in Pennsylvania.

State veterinarian Dr. Craig Shultz says they are tracking this infection. He says staff has been working to identify any links to the animal diagnosed and other herds of captive deer as well as the locations the deer had been in before it became ill.

Hunters are being told to continue best practices of handling deer with gloves and field dressing the animals.   The Game Commission is looking at the case and deciding whether to designate a disease management area.

The CDC recommends that people or animals not eat any part of a deer diagnosed with or showing signs of CWD.

The state Agriculture Department regulates the farm cervid industry. The Pennsylvania Game Commission regulates wild, or free roaming deer.