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Hundreds of deer are dying. What's killing them?
USA Today • • health
Key Points:
- Over 700 white-tailed deer have died in Wisconsin this summer due to an outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), primarily affecting Washington, Waukesha, and Ozaukee counties.
- EHD is a viral disease spread by biting midges, causing symptoms like high fever, internal bleeding, and dehydration, often leading infected deer to seek water where many are found dead.
- The disease is more deadly in Wisconsin because deer here have less prior exposure, and outbreaks tend to be worse in high-density populations; warmer temperatures may increase the range of the insect carriers.
- Deer that survive EHD can develop antibodies, and outbreaks typically subside after the first hard frost kills the midges responsible for transmission.
- EHD is not transmissible to humans and is distinct from chronic wasting disease, which is caused by prions and spreads differently among deer populations.
