DNR Says First Probable Deer CWD Case Found

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources may have found the state's first wild deer infected with chronic wasting disease.

The deer was among 524 tested for the disease in the Pine Island area. DNR officials say preliminary screening by the University of Minnesota strongly indicates a positive case, but the agency is waiting for confirmation from the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.

The DNR has been testing deer since 2002, when the disease was found at a domestic elk farm in central Minnesota. CWD is fatal to deer, elk and moose, but is not a health threat to humans.

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