New ‘area’ on horizon

Another Disease Management Area will be established in Pennsylvania after confirmation of a new case of chronic wasting disease on a commercial deer farm in Lancaster County. The disease was first documented in Pennsylvania in 2012 at a deer farm in Adams County. Game Commission biologists suspect that most cases of CWD in wild deer are linked to deer farm escapees.

Chronic wasting disease is not bacterial or viral. It is the result of an oddly folded protein, or prion, causing a form of spongiform encephalopathy that carves spongelike holes in the brains of its victims, similar to mad cow disease in cattle and scrapie in sheep. Always lethal to deer, the disease is not contagious to pets. Despite longtime scientific consensus that it cannot be contracted by humans, recent research suggests it might be transferable to humans who eat the malformed protein.

Deer farms are regulated by the state Department of Agriculture. Spokeswoman Shannon Powers said deer farmers must be enrolled in one of two programs.

“Deer on Herd Certified Program farms must display two forms of ID,” she said. “One must be an official department-issued identification, while the other can be a farm tag, as long as it is unique to the animal. The program is approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and participation is required for farms that wish to transport deer across state lines.”

Farmers in the Herd Monitored Program are required to provide official ID accompanying all animals submitted for CWD testing or moved off the farm. Boundaries for the newest DMA, located in southcentral Pennsylvania, will be announced by the G — By John Hayes