Five deer at an unnamed Pottawattamie County breeding facility have tested positive for chronic wasting disease, leading state officials to quarantine the operation, the Iowa Departments of Natural Resources and Agriculture announced Tuesday.
The quarantine comes on the heels of the first known case of chronic wasting disease in Iowa, in a white-tail deer on a hunting preserve in Davis County, in the southeast part of the state, in July. At the time, state wildlife department employees described it as an isolated case. The first cases of CWD in wild Texas deer was confirmed that same month.
The Iowa cases appear related. Three of the five deer from Pottawattamie County and the deer from Davis County have been traced to a breeding facility in Cerro Gordo County, in north-central Iowa. State wildlife department employees quarantined the Cerro Gordo County operation as well, where one deer has also been found to have the disease. CWD is a neurological disorder is similar to mad cow disease in cattle and scrapie in sheep. More Here…