DEER MAY HAVE MAD-COW-LIKE DISEASE

Health officials in Kansas are investigating a potential case of chronic wasting disease, a brain degeneration in deer and elk similar to mad cow disease. 
"We're notifying people that we have found the presence of a possible positive case," said Lloyd Fox, big game coordinator for Kansas.

Biologists were notified Wednesday that Kansas State University researchers tested a female whitetail deer killed by a hunter last fall as positive for chronic wasting disease, the Kansas City (Mo.) Star reported Friday. 

Kansas is waiting for confirmation by a U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinary lab, according Bob Mathews, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. 

Copyright 2006 by United Press International 

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