VERONA, N.Y. – A white-tailed deer recently diagnosed with chronic wasting disease was eaten by as many as 350 people at a sportsmen’s dinner last month, a health department official said.

Oneida County officials did not discover the animal was infected with the neurological illness until about two weeks after the Verona Fire Department’s annual Sportsmen’s Feast on March 13. The venison was served as steak, chili, stew, sausage and meat patties.

After the animal was slaughtered, the head was sent to state labs for required testing where the disease was diagnosed.

Ken Fanelli, spokesman for the Oneida County Health Department, said the deer “showed no sign of sickness” when it was donated. He said people who ate the venison do not need to worry about contracting the disease, but urged them to contact state or local health officials.

“There’s no indication whatsoever that the disease has been linked to human illness of any kind,” Fanelli said.

The disease first was discovered in New York last week in two white-tailed deer that had been part of captive herds in Oneida County, east of Syracuse. The second positive case was discovered in a small herd that had taken in animals from the herd that yielded the initial confirmed case, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Markets.

The owners were John Palmer and Martin Proper, both of Westmoreland, and the agency asked anyone who exchanged live animals or venison with them to call the Division of Animal Industry.