TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State wildlife officials say chronic wasting disease has spread to six counties in southwest Kansas. The disease, which is fatal to deer and elk, had already been found in three northwest Kansas counties. So far, the disease had not been passed to humans or livestock. The Wichita Eagle reports that counties where new cases of the disease have been found are Gray, Hodgeman, Kearny, Pawnee, Meade and Scott, with one diseased deer each. One deer tested positive for the disease in Decatur, Norton and Rawlins counties in northwest Kansas. Shane Hesting, wildlife disease coordinator with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, said nine of the about 600 deer tested carried the disease. Most of the deer were shot by hunters.
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