2 more deer found with CWD

Two more deer have tested positive for chronic wasting disease, bringing to eight the total number found in Utah.

The latest cases — two reported on Friday and one recorded earlier in the week — all came from the LaSal unit east of Moab.

This means that five of the eight deer found to have CWD came from the LaSal unit.

Leslie McFarlane, who is heading the CWD program for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said the fact more cases were found in the unit is not surprising, "but we're a little surprised that this area was such a hot spot."

In all cases, hunters who harvested the deer have been notified of the results.

The first case of CWD was found in a deer taken in the 2002 general rifle hunt northeast of Vernal. The second case involved a deer that was found near Moab.

Two more deer taken during the August archery hunt — one near Vernal and the second in the LaSals — tested positive for the disease.

The fifth case involved a deer found near Fountain Green.

The last three cases involve deer taken during the October rifle hunt, and all three were bucks — one was a yearling and two were mature animals.

McFarlane said the last of the test results should be available next week. "We are still doing some testing in the Northern Region. We were about 80 deer short of our objective. We have some doe hunts in the East Canyon unit that will run through December. We're asking those hunters with permits to bring the head of the deer in for testing. We will also have a check station set up in East Canyon," she said.

The DWR will test nearly 3,100 deer this year for CWD. Tests are being done at Utah State University.

CWD is in the same family of diseases as mad-cow disease, which has killed people. It is also in the same group as Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, which is fatal to humans. And it is similar to scrapie, which has been around for more than 300 years and infects sheep but not humans. There is no evidence that CWD can be passed to humans.

CWD is not widespread. Even in infected areas it is found in less than 1 percent of elk and 1-15 percent of deer.

The possibility of infection could increases this winter when deer and elk are pushed by cold weather and snow into crowded winter feeding areas.

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