North Dakota deer and elk populations remain free of chronic wasting disease, according to test results recently received by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

Last fall, North Dakota hunters submitted samples for testing from 2,993 wild deer, 37 elk and four moose collected during the 2006 hunting season. All those samples tested negative, said Erika Butler, NDGFD wildlife veterinarian.

Samples for CWD testing were sent to the Wyoming State Veterinary Lab last December. "We are always hopeful that this will be the outcome," Butler said. "We will continue to be aggressive. In addition to testing any suspect animals throughout the year, we plan to continue our hunter-harvest surveillance in the fall."

Since 2002, nearly 8,500 North Dakota deer and 147 elk have tested negative for CWD. To date, CWD has not been diagnosed in wild or farmed deer or elk in North Dakota. Chronic wasting disease affects the nervous system of members of the deer family and is always fatal. Scientists have found no evidence that CWD can be transmitted naturally to humans or livestock.