Deadly deer disease could happen in Vermont

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is concerned that the deadly insect-borne epizootic hemorrhagic disease could infect deer populations in the state.

No confirmed cases of the disease have been recorded in the state’s history, but outbreaks are reported in New York’s Hudson Valley, including some counties bordering Vermont.

Due to the possible spread, the Fisheries and Wildlife Service is on alert for signs of cases, particularly in the Castleton area, where recent reports of several dead deer. Biologists do not know if these deer were infected because they could not examine the samples before they decomposed, according to officials of the department.

To confirm cases, biologists need fresh samples, so at this point the department is responding to any reports of dead or sick deer it receives, said Nick Fortin, wildlife biologist and project manager on deer at the department’s office in Rutland.

“A lot of times we get a call from someone who has found a dead deer in their yard or whatever, and they’ll let us know, but by the time we can get there, it’s already too broken down to test it,” Fortin said in a telephone interview.

If the deer die unexpectedly, Fortin said biologists may suspect the cause was epizootic hemorrhagic disease, but there’s no way to be sure without a new sample.

The disease is transmitted only by biting midges, tiny annoying insects also called midges or midges and which are smaller than mosquitoes or flies. The disease cannot be transmitted from roe deer to roe deer or from roe deer to other animals. Humans cannot contract it from deer or midges.

While the disease is common in the southern states, where some deer have developed immunity, outbreaks in the northeast are sporadic, so most infected deer die quickly.

If deer in Vermont are carriers, there isn’t much that can be done to mitigate the spread, Fortin said. There is no treatment for the epizootic hemorrhagic disease and no way to prevent the spread, Fish & Wildlife officials said.

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease is the most common infectious disease in white-tailed deer in the eastern United States, according to the Cornell Wildlife Health Lab. Although an outbreak may temporarily reduce the regional deer population, according to a press release from the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, it would have no long-term effect on the population.

If there was an outbreak large enough to threaten deer populations, Fortin said, the state would suspend hunting licenses.

“The most likely place this would happen would be in southwest Vermont, such as Rutland and Bennington counties,” Fortin said. “We are currently fighting to reduce deer populations there, so I don’t mean that would help, but we probably won’t see enough impact where we should be reducing hunting.”

Outbreaks are more common in late summer and early fall when midges are proliferating. Then they are killed by the first hard frost, the statement said.

Symptoms usually start to appear about seven days after a deer becomes infected, according to the Cornell Lab. These include loss of appetite, loss of fear of humans, weakness, fever, edema, and swelling of the head, neck, tongue, or eyelids. Once symptoms start to appear, deer die within eight to 36 hours. Infected deer tend to die near a water source, and several deer can be found together.

The disease is diagnosed by a combination of clinical signs and tests for the virus on tissues and blood.

Anyone who finds a dead or sick deer can contact the local Vermont State Police office, who will report it to Vermont Fish & Wildlife.