The Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture announced that two deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Luzerne County.

The deer, one hunter-harvested and one from a captive facility, were adult males. The recent detections are 40 miles from the nearest wild CWD detection.

As a result, Disease Management Area (DMA) changes will be made and announced after the April game commission’s board meeting. Game commission officials will answer questions from 6-8 p.m. Feb. 27 in Room 115 of the Graham Building at Penn State Hazleton, 76 University Drive.

According to the commission, CWD is an always-fatal neurological disease caused by a misfolded protein called a prion and is a threat to deer and elk.

There is no evidence of CWD infecting humans or other species under natural conditions. However, since much is unknown about the disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises against eating the meat of a CWD-positive deer.

The commission noted that the disease spreads through direct animal-to-animal contact, as well as indirectly through environments contaminated by the prions. Diseased deer and elk shed prions through saliva, urine and feces, and infected carcasses contribute to environmental contamination. Once in soil, CWD prions remain infectious for decades. Therefore, feeding deer is strongly discouraged and is illegal within existing DMAs.

According to the game commission, the captive deer that tested positive on Dec. 16 was from a breeding deer farm in Luzerne County. The Department of Agriculture placed the farm under a quarantine order for five years.

For more information, call the game commission’s CWD Hotline at 1-833-INFOCWD, email INFOCWD@pa.gov or visit www.arcg.is/1G4TLr.