The Pennsylvania Game Commission is taking action after three hunter-killed deer tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease.

Two of the deer were from Blair County, the third was from Bedford County.

The commission is in the process of identifying the hunters who turned in those samples to try to pinpoint the areas where they were hunting.

Chronic Wasting Disease is a fatal illness that attacks the brain and nervous system in deer and elk. It is transmitted though animal-to-animal contact and there is no cure. There is no scientific evidence to show that it can be transmitted to humans.

The three positives for the illness are the first ones the state has seen in the wild in the 15 years that it has tested samples for chronic wasting disease.

In October and November of 2012, two captive deer at a farm in Adams County tested positive for the disease. Those findings prompted a series of public meetings to educate hunters about the disease and new procedures to prevent it from spreading.

Officials also designated a 600 square mile quarantine area in Adams and York Counties, around the farm, and required all hunters who killed deer in the area to submit samples to the state.

The game commission has collected some 5,000 deer samples statewide to be tested for the disease. They’re still waiting on the results of about 1500 samples.

Game commission officials have a press conference scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday to keep the public informed about the situation and what is being done to prevent the disease from spreading.

The press conference will be webcast through the PA Game Commission’s website beginning at 2 p.m.