By Kate Evans, The Morgan Messenger
BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) — an acute, infectious, often fatal viral disease that attacks white-tailed deer — is getting the attention of DNR officers and hunters as fall sets in.
The disease is characterized by extensive hemorrhages and oral lesions and has been found in white-tailed deer in the northern, eastern and southeastern United States and southern Canada.
A similar hemorrhagic disease called bluetongue also occurs throughout the United States and Canada.
No cases of the disease have been reported in Morgan County, but nearby counties in the state are seeing an uptick in the virus and neighboring Washington County, Maryland is part of an area being watched for outbreaks.
Transmission
The Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) virus is transmitted by a Culicoides biting fly or midge (no-see-um).
The disease isn’t transmitted directly from one deer to another, said Ethan Barton, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources wildlife disease specialist in Romney.
A white-tailed deer must be bitten by a midge carrying the virus to become infected.
