No positive samples so far in Iowa tests for diseased deer

No positive tests for chronic wasting disease have been recorded among the first 26 samples collected in a special surveillance effort in Allamakee County, the Department of Natural Resources said Friday.

The 26 samples were collected Feb. 21 and 22, the first weekend of the effort to collect 200 samples in a 30-square-mile area in which four diseased deer were harvested in 2013 and 2014.

As the second week of the effort comes to a close, the DNR has collected 64 usable samples from 78 deer collected.

The DNR submits samples to the National Veterinary Services Lab in Ames, which needs about two weeks to complete the tests.

'We expect the warmer weather this weekend and next week to allow cooperators a better chance of obtaining the 200 samples,” said Dale Garner, chief of the DNR's Wildlife Bureau.

Nearly 400 collectors have been issued permits, which is more than enough for the project, Garner said. The tissue collection effort will conclude on March 15.

Garner said the additional data will be important in determining he best course of action for slowing the spread of the always fatal disease.