A deer virus already found in three Wisconsin counties this year may be spreading north because of milder winters, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
A deer found dead in Shawano County was recently tested for epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), a virus spread by biting midges in the Culicoides genus, better known as no-see-ums, said Nancy Businga, a DNR wildlife diseases specialist in Madison. The test was negative.
EHD, first detected in Iowa County in 2002, was discovered in dead deer found last month in Jackson, Waukesha and Chippewa counties. Landowners found otherwise healthy-looking deer dead in or near water and reported the carcasses to the DNR.
Businga noted as many as 20 to 25 dead deer in Jackson County may have had the disease, but once the disease is confirmed in a county, no further testing is typically done.
EHD is not spread from deer to deer like chronic wasting disease and can’t be spread to humans or contaminate meat, she noted.
“There’s no need for panic,” she said. “There’s really not much we can do. It has no effect on people. We just want people to report a dead deer.”
Deer with EHD will suffer a high fever and typically head to water to cool down.
Symptoms include foaming at the mouth, excessive salivation and a weak appearance or lack of fear near humans, according to the DNR.
The last major outbreak of EHD occurred in 2012, when deer in eight southern counties tested positive. A small pocket of the disease was found in southwestern Wisconsin in 2019. The next year, small outbreaks of fewer than 50 deer each were found in Oconto and Buffalo counties. The last cases prior to this year were found in 2021 in La Crosse and Juneau counties.
Jeff Pritzl, the DNR’s deer biologist, said the disease is common in the southern and western states, as well as Iowa, Indiana and Nebraska, but is relatively new to Wisconsin. Michigan recently reported an EHD outbreak in at least 13 counties. It typically hits in early fall when the midges are most common. Several frosts will kill off the midges, just as they do for mosquitoes.
In general, hunters and other wildlife lovers won’t notice a significant change in the deer herd, although one of the outbreaks that included Columbia County about a decade ago hit hard, he noted.
“We could tell the deer herd took a hit,” he said.
Pritzl noted that deer can develop immunity to EHD over time. Southern states typically see less mortality from it than the emerging states to the north. Businga said warmer winters can extend the active season for midges and therefore the right conditions for EHD.
Because the disease is relatively new here, Businga and other biologists are consulting with experts to the south, including the University of Georgia, for advice.
Samples of suspected deer with EHD must be taken within a day or two of death for a valid test.
If you find a fresh deer carcass, especially near water, call the DNR wildlife switchboard at 608-267-0866 or email DNRwildlifeswitchboard@wisconsin.com.
Meanwhile, CWD continues to flourish in the state, with Pierce and St. Croix counties now added to the list of counties with feeding and baiting bans after a sick doe tested positive in Pierce County near Spring Lake earlier this year. It was the first confirmed case in the county.
Currently, 61 counties have feeding and baiting bans because of CWD. The only counties that will allow feeding and baiting this hunting season are Burnett, Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, Iron, Price, Clark, Brown, Door, Kewaunee and Manitowoc.
Although the DNR and other experts believe CWD can’t be spread to humans via contaminated meat, the DNR will replace a deer hunting authorization (tag) if a harvested deer tests positive for CWD.
Ross Bielema is a freelance writer from New London and owner of Wolf River Concealed Carry LLC. Contact him at Ross@wolfriverccw.com.
Latest deer disease not potential threat of CWD
