Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was not detected in samples taken from hunter-killed deer during the state's 2005 hunting season, according to Dr. Walt Cottrell, Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife veterinarian. As CWD has been identified in New York and West Virginia in 2005, Cottrell noted that the agency continues to increase the number of deer samples collected for testing. In 2005, 3,834 samples were tested from hunter-killed deer, and CWD was not detected. In 2004, 3,613 hunter-killed deer samples were tested, compared to the 2,004 deer sampled in 2003, and 558 in 2002. CWD was not detected in previous year's samples. Results showing that the CWD tests of hunter-killed elk from 2005 were all negative and were announced on Jan. 23.
