Dead elk tests positive for chronic wasting disease

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – An elk from a farmed herd in central Oklahoma has tested positive for the deadly chronic wasting disease.
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the state Department of Wildlife Conservation said Wednesday that a 2-year-old bull elk in Lincoln County that died of an injury was tested as part of the undisclosed farm’s certified herd plan.
This is the second confirmed case of the disease in Oklahoma. The first was in a farmed elk in neighboring Oklahoma County in 1998.
The location of the latest confirmed test was not revealed, but the facility and a nearby hunting area have been quarantined.
The deadly neurological disease affects animals including deer, elk, and moose.
Researchers have found no evidence that the disease poses a serious risk to humans.

Image: KTUL