ST. PAUL — Minnesota wildlife officials said a wild deer taken in Houston County has tested positive for apparent chronic wasting disease.

The Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday that official confirmation will come later this week. The hunter has been notified, and the DNR is arranging to pick up the meat and carcass.

It’s the first time the neurological disease has been detected in Houston County since testing began in 2002.

If confirmed, the DNR will offer landowner shooting permits in the area around where the deer was harvested.

The buck was harvested 8.5 miles from a Winona County deer farm where a deer tested positive for CWD in 2017.

The disease causes brain lesions in deer, elk and moose. There is no evidence that chronic wasting infects people.