Chronic wasting disease found in two-deer Douglas County herd

A case of chronic wasting disease has been confirmed in a captive deer in Douglas County of west-central Minnesota. The Board of Animal Health says it marks the first appearance of the fatal brain disease in that county.

The board says an 8-year-old white-tailed doe tested positive after it was killed by its pen-mate, a white-tailed buck, the only other deer on the site. Test results are pending on the buck, which was euthanized. No deer remain on the site, which has been quarantined.

Officials are investigating how the disease reached the herd, which was owned by a hobbyist.

(Associated Press)