1st Case Of Deer-Killing Virus Reported In New York For 2022

DUTCHESS COUNTY, NY — The first case of epizootic hemorrhagic disease in New York for 2022 was found in a deer in Dutchess County.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed Wednesday that a white-tailed deer in the town of Dover Plains died recently after contracting the disease.

The DEC is currently investigating reports of several other dead deer from Dutchess County.

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease, which is often fatal, is caused by a virus that is transmitted by biting midges — small bungs often called no-see-ums or "punkies."

The disease is not spread directly from deer to deer and humans cannot be infected by deer or bites from midges.

EHD virus was first confirmed in New York in 2007 with relatively small outbreaks in Albany, Rensselaer and Niagara counties and in Rockland County in 2011.

In 2020, a large outbreak occurred in the lower Hudson Valley, centered in Putnam and Orange counties. There were reports from the public of about 1,500 dead deer.

In 2021, the outbreak shifted and the DEC received more than 2,000 reports of dead deer primarily in Ulster, Dutchess, Columbia, Oswego and Jefferson counties.

Once infected with the virus, experts said, deer usually die within 36 hours.

EHD outbreaks are most common in the late summer and early fall when midges are abundant.

Symptoms include fever, hemorrhage in muscle or organs and swelling of the head, neck, tongue and lips.

An infected deer may appear lame or dehydrated. Frequently, it will seek out water sources, and many die near a water source.

There is no treatment or means to prevent EHD. The dead deer do not serve as a source of infection for other animals.

Outbreaks don't have a significant long-term impact on deer populations, but deer mortality can be intense in small geographic areas.

EHD is endemic — or regularly occurring — in southern states where there are annual outbreaks, so some southern deer have developed immunity.

That is not the case in the northeast where outbreaks occur sporadically. Deer in New York have no immunity to the virus, experts said, and infected deer in the state are expected to die.

In the north, the first hard frost kills the midges that transmit the disease, ending the outbreak.

Sightings of sick or dying deer should be reported online or to the nearest DEC regional office or Environmental Conservation police officer.

For more information on epizootic hemorrhagic disease, go to this DEC website site.