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DNR Announce Cause Of Michigan Deer Die-Off

The Department of Natural Resources today announced a diagnosis of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), an often fatal viral disease found in wild ruminants, for the more than 150 deer that have died in northern Livingston County in the Tyrone and Hartland townships area.

The disease is characterized by extensive hemorrhages and is transmitted by a biting fly (midge). White-tailed deer develop signs of the illness about seven days after exposure, and a constant characteristic of the disease is its sudden onset. Deer initially lose their appetite and fear of man, grow progressively weaker, salivate excessively, develop a rapid pulse and respiration rate and finally become unconscious. Due to a high fever, the deer often are found sick or dead along or in bodies of water.

The virus can be transmitted to mule deer; however, there is no evidence that humans can contract the virus.

There is no known effective treatment or control of EHD. Michigan first documented EHD in its white-tailed deer population in 1955. Additional die-offs attributed to EHD occurred in 1974 in several Michigan counties, and again in 2006 in Allegan County. Last year, a similar die-off affected areas of Oakland and Macomb counties along the Clinton River. EHD is a common white-tailed deer disease in the southern United States. More frequent outbreaks of EHD in Michigan could be a consequence of climate changes that favor the northward spread of the biting flies that spread the disease, said Russ Mason, chief of the DNR Wildlife Division.

Property owners who discover dead deer on their land are responsible for disposing of the carcass. Carcasses can be buried at a sufficient depth so that body parts are not showing. Carcasses also can be disposed of at a landfill that accepts household solid waste.

For more information on EHD, please see the Michigan Emerging Diseases Web site at www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases.