ST. PAUL, Minn. – A deer hit and killed by a car in Olmsted County has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD).

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says the Olmsted County deer, an adult female, appeared to suffer injury from a vehicle before dying in Rochester on November 4. The resident who reported the dead deer brought the carcass to be sampled by DNR staff for CWD testing. Officials say while this is not the first wild deer to have the disease within deer permit area 643, it is the farthest northwest that CWD has been found in the southeast disease management zone.

In addition, a wild deer killed by a hunter in Dakota County on November 7 also tested positive for CWD. It was harvested less than a mile from a CWD-positive wild deer discovered in March and was tested after the hunter provided the sample as part of the DNR’s voluntary sampling program.

“It’s concerning to see these two positive test results. We will continue gathering data to see how prevalent the disease is in these areas, and maintain our aggressive management response,” says Michelle Carstensen, DNR’s wildlife health program supervisor. “We’re grateful to hunters and other Minnesotans for providing samples to test for this disease and help safeguard the health of our wild deer population. “These two positive test results are unfortunate, but highlight the importance of our sampling efforts in getting information that shows us how prevalent the disease is in an area. We urge hunters to continue bringing deer to sampling stations. Every sample counts.”