Woe is the Whitetail! Not only is hunting season just around the corner, but early fall tends to bring viral outbreaks to herds throughout the United States.
Epizootic Hemmorhagic Disease (EHD) crops up after a drought and tends to stay until the first good frost kills the gnats that spread it. Sheep, cattle and elk are susceptible to the virus, though humans are not (phew).
So far wildlife officials in Michigan, Indiana, Montana, Ohio, West Virginia and Iowa are asking residents to please report dead deer sightings, especially those found near water.
[Aside: Did everyone know there are over 600 deer farms in Michigan? We thought it was a British thing.]
Deer herds are also contending with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), which is thought to spread through saliva. This year, researchers in Wisconsin are trying to determine if highways and water ways can act as natural barriers to the spread of disease. As with EHD, the risk of animal-to-human transmission is low, but no one should eat sickly animals.
Viruses spreading through the Whitetail Population
October 11, 2006
Epizootic Hemmorhagic Disease (EHD) crops up after a drought and tends to stay until the first good frost kills the gnats that spread it. Sheep, cattle and elk are susceptible to the virus, though humans are not (phew).
So far wildlife officials in Michigan, Indiana, Montana, Ohio, West Virginia and Iowa are asking residents to please report dead deer sightings, especially those found near water.
[Aside: Did everyone know there are over 600 deer farms in Michigan? We thought it was a British thing.]
Deer herds are also contending with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), which is thought to spread through saliva. This year, researchers in Wisconsin are trying to determine if highways and water ways can act as natural barriers to the spread of disease. As with EHD, the risk of animal-to-human transmission is low, but no one should eat sickly animals.