MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin officials say a deer farm in the state has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.
The Washburn County Deer Farm was confirmed by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to have tested positive for chronic wasting disease. Sample were collected from the farm and were confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories, which is located in Ames, Iowa.
Wisconsin agriculture officials made the announcement on Thursday, confirming that a 3-year-old doe was infected at Thunder Trophy Whitetails in Birchwood, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The doe was brought over to the farm from Rodenkirch Whitetails and Genetics last October. According to The Associated Press, the disease was not found at either facility. but a doe did test positive for it last March.
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Chronic wasting disease is a deadly neurological disease of deer, elk and moose, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection said. The disease is caused by an infectious protein which is call prion. Prion affects the animal’s brain.
Deer can only be tested for chronic wasting disease once they are dead, the AP said.
It has been found in 31 states and four provinces in Canada, the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Center said, according to the AP.
This recent case was the first case in Wisconsin since 2002, the AP reported.