Two male deer have tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, marking the county’s first detections of the fatal neurologic disease. The infected deer were one adult buck harvested by a hunter and the other identified on a local farm.
CWD is caused by infectious misfolded proteins called prions that spread among cervids through direct contact and environmental contamination. No CWD infections have been reported in people, but the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends against consuming infected animals.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has announced disease-management-area changes in the spring, which will require testing of deer on affected farms and prohibit movement of deer to or from these areas.
Separately, health officials are investigating an active tuberculosis (TB) case at a high school in Michigan and warning of possible exposure at another California high school. The ECDC is also warning about a rising incidence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) infections in the EU/EEA nations, citing a high risk of death associated with these infections.
Source: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/chronic-wasting-disease/luzerne-county-pennsylvania-reports-first-cwd-cases