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N.D. (AP) — Two deer taken from southwestern North Dakota have tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

The state Game and Fish Department says the mule deer doe and mule deer buck were taken during the 2016 gun season. Since 2009, a total of nine deer from that part of the state have tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

After last fall’s hunt, more than 1,400 samples were tested from the southwestern and eastern third of the state.

This year, deer will be tested from the central part of the state.

Chronic wasting disease affects the nervous system of deer, elk and moose and is always fatal. There’s no evidence that it can be transmitted naturally to humans or livestock.