Health officials say there’s no evidence the disease can be transmitted to humans and there have been no reports of disease in humans.
A new case of chronic wasting disease in deer has been detected in B.C.
To date, three cases of the disease have been identified in deer populations in the Kootenay region, according to a news release from the B.C. government on Thursday.
The first two cases in B.C. were confirmed in February: One was a male mule deer harvested by a hunter, and the other was a female white-tailed deer killed in a road accident. Both were collected in Cranbrook as part of B.C.’s continuing chronic wasting disease surveillance efforts, the government said.
The latest case was a white-tailed deer found last month near Cranbrook.
Health officials say there’s no evidence the disease can be transmitted to humans and there have been no reports of disease in humans.
However, Health Canada recommends that people don’t eat meat of an infected animal. Officials say cooking temperatures can’t destroy the abnormal protein that causes chronic wasting disease if an animal is infected.