Preliminary Results Identified CWD Infected Deer in Winona County

St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - The first batch of tests on samples from the deer harvested during the past two weekends during special hunts in southeastern Minnesota identified one presumptive positive for Chronic Wasting Disease in Winona County.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says the preliminary test result indicates a 1 1/2-year-old male deer harvested during the first weekend of the special hunting season in portions of Winona and Houston Counties is likely infected with the fatal brain disorder. A hunter bagged the deer at a site about 2 ½ miles from a deer farm in Winona County where CWD was previously detected and about 8 miles from a site in Houston County where the disease was found in the wild deer herd.

The positive result was on the only one among the 157 deer harvested in the first weekend. The results on the samples from the nearly 200 deer harvested in the second weekend of the special hunt are still pending. Confirmation on the presumptive positive result is expected later this week.