The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reported the presence of a sometimes fatal virus in white-tailed deer in Franklin County Friday.
The Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) virus kills deer in Indiana, and other parts of the country, every year but isn’t known to infect humans. DNR confirmed the disease’s presence after analyzing samples at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study labs.
Midge flies, commonly known as no-see-ums or biting gnats, infect the deer, who then develop a fever and die within 36 hours. Attempting to relieve the fever, deer may seek bodies of water and die nearby — though some recover.
EHD cases typically peak in late summer and early fall before falling in winter. DNR said it was monitoring several suspected cases primarily in southern Indiana. The virus outbreak is not expected to affect deer hunting season, though hunters may recognize some of the common signs of the disease.
In infected deer, EHD may cause: walking in circles, general weakness, a loss of fear of humans, a swollen or blue-tinged tongue, swollen eyelids, a swollen neck or head as well as respiratory distress.
“If you see a deer acting strange or if you find multiple dead deer in a single area, we would like to hear about it,” said Michelle Benavidez Westrich, a wildlife health biologist with DNR, in a release.