Ohio seeks tissue samples in deer-disease case

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

A rare disease found in Ohio’s captive deer population has prompted state wildlife officials to seek tissue samples from wild deer in the area around the hunting preserve where an infected deer was confirmed.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife is asking for tissue samples of wild deer as a precaution after chronic wasting disease (CWD) was recently identified in a deer at the preserve known as the World Class Whitetails of Ohio ranch in Holmes County, northeast of Columbus. As of Sunday, the disease had not been found in Ohio’s wild herd, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

The disease, which hasn’t been shown to infect humans, attacks the brain of the infected animal, produces lesions, and eventually kills the animal. Wildlife officials are asking for deer heads on a voluntary basis in the sampling area, which is restricted to eight townships in Holmes County surrounding the preserve.