The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is reminding deer hunters about chronic wasting disease testing locations.

Chronic wasting disease is a fatal illness affecting the central nervous system of deer and elk. It was first detected in Illinois in 2002 in a deer from Boone County. Since then, nearly 186,000 wild deer have been tested statewide, with 2,748 testing positive for the disease, according to a community announcement.

The disease has spread across 25 counties in northern and west-central Illinois. Wildlife biologists monitor the spread of CWD primarily through testing hunter-harvested deer. While CWD is not known to be transmissible to humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization advise against consuming venison from infected deer.

See Full Page