DNR tracking surge of deadly virus among deer

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has confirmed multiple cases of a fatal disease among deer in Kent County over the last week. This adds to a late July surge in St. Joseph County and an early September surge in Ottawa County.

The disease, Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease , is a near-death sentence for wild deer, which contract it from infected insects called midges.

“The most obvious (symptom) from the outside would be bleeding from the eyes or the mouth,” Nealy Molhoek, coordinator of natural resources at Ottawa County Parks and Recreation told News 8. “These deer will be confused, disoriented and lethargic. Often, they are looking for water.”

Cases of the disease spike every few years in alignment with ideal weather conditions for midge breeding. Any summer with a wet start and dry finish creates the perfect breeding grounds for the insects.

“It creates these areas that might normally be holding a little more water and are now kind of muddy slightly wet areas,” Molhoek described.

These muddy pools are often near large bodies of water where infected deer are driven to alleviate their symptoms and healthy deer come to drink normally, providing ideal conditions for transmission.

The disease cannot spread directly from deer to deer or from deer to humans, or pets. So, there is no risk to your household if you spot a deer suffering from EHD.

If you do, the DNR asks that you report it using their Eyes in the Field portal . If you find a deceased deer, particularly near a body of water, they ask that you report that as well.

After reporting, it is up to the property owner where the carcass was found to dispose of the animal. DNR said burying the carcass is an acceptable form of disposal, as is leaving it to the elements and scavengers.

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