Madison, WI (Northland's NewsCenter) --- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officers have confirmed that samples from dead deer found in Dane, Sauk and Waukesha counties have tested positive for Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, or EHD.
EHD has now been confirmed in Columbia, Rock, Sauk, Dane and Wuakesha counties in Wisconsin.
EHD is often fatal, typically killing an infected deer within seven days. The last EHD observation in Wisconsin was in 2002 in Iowa County where 14 deer died from the virus.
This year, outbreaks of EHD have been reported in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa.
“Our neighbor states have been seeing EHD outbreaks for the last several weeks and now it has made its way into southern Wisconsin,” said Eric Lobner, DNR southern Wisconsin wildlife supervisor. “It is a fairly common disease carried by midges, commonly referred to as no see ums, which are not a threat to humans, so there is no cause for alarm."
The disease is typically short lived as the flies that transmit the disease die with the first hard frost.
If you see a deer that shows the following symptoms:
- Excessive salivation or foaming around the nose and mouth.
- Appearing weak and approachable by humans.
- In or near water sources. They will often lay in water to cool down or drink.
You are asked to report it to your local DNR headquarters.
Wildlife officials say there is no risk to people or pets from deer that have died of EHD and that the venison is safe to eat. Deer carcasses can be left on the landscape to decompose.
The DNR will not be collecting or removing deer that have died as a result of this outbreak.
Posted to the web by Krista Burns