Nearly 50 of Penn State's elm trees have been infected with a deadly disease and some will be removed shortly, university officials said.

The outlook for the rest of the campus' about 290 elms is not optimistic, they said.

The university has identified elm yellows disease in 47 elms on campus, 14 of which are located on the core campus, Office of Physical Plant (OPP) superintendent of grounds Jeff Dice said this morning at a press conference. Elms on Pattee Mall as well as Burrowes Street have been affected by the bacterial-like disease, which has no cure.

The disease is spread by the elm leafhopper insect, according to a press release.

Removal of the affected trees will begin shortly and continue through the winter, OPP spokesman Paul Ruskin said. The trees will be replaced with a variety of different trees, including, potentially, oak and sycamore trees, said Derek Kalp, an OPP landscape designer.

University officials first identified the disease in four trees last fall.

--Check Friday's Daily Collegian for more information.