University of Minnesota Students Test Deadly Deer Disease

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Students from the University of Minnesota traveled the state to test the deadly deer disease as the deer hunting season reached its peak.

The chronic debilitating disease surveillance project is in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. About 80 students participated in the project this month.

The students took tissue samples from deer while the hunters brought them to the test stations. The students also recorded information about where the deer was shot. The DNR will use this information to track the prevalence of the disease in the state and identify potential quarantine areas.

Larissa Minicucci is a veterinary professor who coordinated student recruitment for the project. She claims that the chronic debilitating disease resembles mad cow disease and that it has spread in the Minnesota wild deer population since 2010.