CWD-Infected Deer Served To As Many As 350 At Hunters' Dinner - AP

[hatrack]

VERONA, N.Y. - "A white-tailed deer recently diagnosed with chronic wasting disease was eaten by as many as 350 people at a sportsmen's dinner last month, a health department official said.

Oneida County officials did not discover that the animal was infected with the neurological illness until about two weeks after the Verona Fire Department's Annual Sportsmen's Feast on March 13. The venison was served as steak, chili, stew, sausage and meat patties.

After the animal was slaughtered, the head was sent for required testing to state labs, where the disease was diagnosed. Ken Fanelli, spokesman for the Oneida County Health Department, said the deer "showed no sign of sickness" when it was donated. He said people who ate the venison do not need to worry about contracting the disease, but urged them to contact state or local health officials. "There's no indication whatsoever that the disease has been linked to human illness of any kind," Fanelli said.

The disease was first discovered in New York last week in two white-tailed deer that had been part of captive herds in Oneida County, east of Syracuse. The second positive case was discovered in a small herd that had taken in animals from the herd that yielded the initial confirmed case, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Markets."

EDIT

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsdeer06q4205684apr06,0,1363567.story?coll=ny-health-headlines

[Politicub]

1. Gross!

Ehw!!!

[havocmom]

2. Must've been a BIG deer.

"A" white tale, as many as 350 diners? Wow. Might have been better to put that one in the Smithsonian.

[ret5hd]

3. DO NOT WORRY!!! but contact health officials immediately.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

4. They had it coming

Devouring Bambi.

Bastards.

:sarcasm:

[tanyev]

5. Oopsie.

A little Darwinian herd-thinning?

[Freebird12004]

6. People have known about the risk for years.

And said it wasn't so.

[livetohike]

7. It could take up to 20 years for the disease to manifest

itself in those diners. By then, everyone would have forgotten this dinner. Sad.

[MountainLaurel]

8. These people need to be tracked

For a very long time, to see if the disease has manifest itself. Prion diseases have crossed species lines many times, so telling these people that there's no chance they'll get sick is a bald-faced lie.

[livetohike]

9. Definitely

My husband's aunt passed away from CJD back in 1993. The doctors gave everyone in the family a print out from a medical journal to inform us of the disease.

My husband can no longer donate blood because he had a relative with CJD (his mother's sister). It's scary stuff and I would be considered if I was at that dinner.