Deer found dead from hemorrhagic disease in Crawford County
As the Valley comes closer and closer to hunting season, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is informing residents of a recent outbreak of hemorrhagic disease among deer in Crawford County, PA.
In a Facebook post, The PGC says that between 30 and 40 dead deer were found the week of September 8th in the proximity of PA's State Game Lands 214 in Crawford County near North Shenango and Sadsbury townships.
The cause of death was hemorrhagic disease, also known as HD or EHD (Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease).
HD has a wide variety of symptoms in deer, but infected deer will often appear disoriented and show little to no fear of humans according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
According to the PGC, HD is spread by midges, small insects which are known to be carriers of several diseases. In the case of HD, deer and elk are both vulnerable but the disease has a far greater effect on white-tail deer, who are more likely to contract the disease and suffer in large-scale mortality events.
The PGC says that warming climates are to blame for the disease's spread to the northeast, as midges move north to areas that were previously too cold in hunting season for them to survive.
Now, those areas are warmer and drier for longer periods of the year, introducing midges to areas which had previously not been exposed to HD.
"It is concerning because previously unexposed wild deer and elk populations are potentially being introduced to a novel pathogen," the PGC said.
Fortunately, HD is not transmittable between animals and humans, and also does not affect household pets. Regardless, the PGC says people should remain a safe distance away when observing wildlife, and should not handle wildlife unless hunting, trapping, or otherwise authorized to do so.
Additionally, ODNR says that "No risk has been shown to be associated with direct exposure to the virus or in consuming a deer that has been infected with the virus," but adds that people should still avoid killing or eating any sick deer due to the wide array of diseases that could be affecting them.
According to Nick Derico, natural resources manager of Mill Creek MetroParks, there as been no sign of an outbreak in Mahoning Valley, but they are monitoring the conditions of deer out of concern.
It is unclear whether similar outbreaks have occurred in Lawrence or Mercer Counties, or if HD is also affected deer populations in Ohio. 21 News is reaching out to wildlife officials in those areas for more information.
