By Myles Snyder - ABC27 News Published: February 28, 2017,
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – A captive white-tailed deer has tested positive for a chronic wasting disease, the state’s second positive case in three months.
The deer died in January on a Bedford County deer farm where it was born and raised, the Department of Agriculture said Tuesday. The farm is under quarantine.
Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough said it is not yet known how the case will affect those who hunt in the area.
The fatal disease attacks the brain of infected deer, elk and moose. It was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2012 when a captive deer in Adams County tested positive.
Twelve captive deer have tested positive since 2012. The most recent case was a deer harvested from a hunting preserve in Franklin County in November.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there is no strong evidence it can be contracted by humans or livestock.