3 New Cases of CWD Detected in Wild Deer

Three white-tailed deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease, a neurological disease fatal to deer, in one of the nation’s oldest states with a hunting tradition.

Chronic Wasting Disease is fatal to deer and now is in more than two dozen states and Canadian provinces.

The three infected deer were discovered after the 2014 hunting season after testing procedures. They were located in northwestern Virginia. The state already had discovered CWD in its deer herd.

CWD is a neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer and some other cervids. It was first identified about 50 years ago and now is found in two dozen states and Canadian provinces.

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries said CWD was discovered in a buck in Shenandoah County killed by a vehicle. The other two were killed by hunters in Frederick County along the West Virginia border. The department said the 2015 CWD zone will encompass all of Shenandoah, Frederick, Warren, and Clarke counties.