Deadly disease detected in deer herd MN

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Valley News Live) – An illness that kills deer has been confirmed for the first time in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health announced on Wednesday the first cases of epizootic haemorrhagic disease (DHH) in Minnesota deer. saying that six of seven animals from a small herd of captive deer in Goodhue County died of the disease earlier this month.

Animal health officials said the rest of the herd seemed healthy at the present time and showed no clinical signs associated with the disease. This is the first time that this disease is detected in a Minnesota deer, but it is widespread throughout North America. It has already been detected in two Minnesota cows in Brown (2012) and Murray (2013) counties.

"This virus is transmitted between deer by biting gnats, or gnats, which are most active in the fall before being killed by the first frost of the season," said Dr. Mackenzie Reberg, Senior Veterinarian of the Board of Animal Health. "These insects can not travel alone and we are concerned with this detection because the owner of the herd has not moved deer on the property for several years."

The early and unexplained deaths of the deer at the beginning of this month alarmed the owner, who worked with his veterinarian to submit the carcass tissues to the veterinary diagnostic laboratory of the state of Iowa to determine the cause of death. EHD has been confirmed by the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory.

The JEP affects members of the deer family, but there is no known risk to people's health. Many deer species can be infected by the JEP: white-tailed deer are very vulnerable and have high mortality rates, most of them dying within 36 hours of clinical signs. These include fever, anorexia, lethargy, stiffness, respiratory distress, oral ulcers and severe swelling of the head and neck.

There is no specific treatment or vaccine available in the United States.

The Office has informed the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources of confirmed cases in southeastern Minnesota.