Hundreds of Ohio’s deer have grown sick or died recently due to an outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD, according to Ohio Department of Natural Resources data.
The disease has been reported sporadically around the state, with the largest outbreak occurring in southeast Ohio. Athens County and its neighbors have been hardest hit by EHD, with hundreds of sick or dying deer reported in Athens County alone, according to ODNR data.
Fairfield County and Union County in central Ohio currently have confirmed cases of EHD in free-roaming deer.
The outbreak could reduce hunting opportunities this fall, according to Clint McCoy, a deer biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
What is epizootic hemorrhagic disease?
EHD is a virus spread by infected midges who bite deer. Once infected, deer develop symptoms like respiratory distress, swelling, disorientation and fever.
The fever affects the deer’s cognitive functions, making them confused and unafraid of humans, according to McCoy.
“People can approach them. They can be kind of just standing still for a long period of time, hanging their head, just maybe acting kind of disoriented,” he said.
Ohio’s deer have little resistance to the virus and will often die within three days of showing symptoms. The disease does not impact humans, according to ODNR.
The disease typically emerges in the summer and disappears by the first frost of fall when most midges die or become inactive, according to McCoy.
Why is EHD spreading?
Ohio has EHD outbreaks almost annually, but the severity of the outbreaks and where they occur are “extremely variable,” according to McCoy.
That’s because midges spread and reproduce better in certain ecological and environmental conditions. A warm spring allows midges to start reproducing early, and a rainy early summer that gives way to a drier late summer creates receding water bodies that midges breed in.
They typically breed in mud flats or mud holes found next to water sources, according to McCoy.
While many people associate midges with drought, they can spread whenever weather conditions create receding water bodies, like after a heavy rain, McCoy added.
The disease is a relatively new phenomenon for Ohio’s deer as the world’s warming climate allowed infected midges to move further north in the U.S. Deer in the southern U.S. have been exposed to the disease “for millennia” and are resistant to it, according to McCoy.
Ohioans who find a dead deer or a deer acting strangely can report it to ODNR online.
Breaking and trending news reporter Nathan Hart can be reached at NHart@dispatch.com and at @NathanRHart on X and at nathanhart.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio’s deer are dying due to a deadly disease outbreak. Here’s what you need to know.
Reporting by Nathan Hart, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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