Virus Blamed In Deer Deaths Spreading In Hudson Valley

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — A deadly disease that affects deer is spreading in the Hudson Valley.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said Thursday that epizootic hemorrhagic disease has been confirmed to be in Columbia, Dutchess, Greene and Ulster counties. It is also in Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island and Oswego.

Officials said the DEC is tracking suspected cases and new reports of dead deer in Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan and Westchester counties in the Hudson Valley, as well as Albany, Jefferson, Oneida and Rensselaer counties.

To date, the DEC has received reports of about 700 dead deer.

The virus was first confirmed in New York deer in 2007, with relatively small outbreaks in Albany, Rensselaer and Niagara counties, and in Rockland County in 2011.

From early September to late October 2020, there was a large outbreak in the lower Hudson Valley, centered in Putnam and Orange counties, with an estimated 1,500 dead deer.

In New York, epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus is typically a fatal disease for deer that is transmitted by biting midges, small insects sometimes called no-see-ums or "punkies." The disease is not spread from deer to deer and humans cannot be infected by deer or bites from midges.

Once deer are infected with the virus, they usually die within 36 hours. Outbreaks are most common in the late summer and early fall when midges are abundant, although, the DEC said, initial cases this year were detected in late July.

Signs of the virus include fever, hemorrhage in muscles or organs and swelling of the head, neck, tongue and lips. A deer infected with the disease may appear lame or dehydrated. Frequently, infected deer will seek out water sources and many succumb near a water source. There is no treatment or means to prevent epizootic hemorrhagic disease, and dead deer do not serve as a source of infection for other animals.

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease has been in the state since July and has had time to circulate and spread prior to the first killing frosts, and as a consequence, it has been more widespread this year than during the previous outbreaks.

Disease outbreaks don't have a significant long-term impact on deer populations, but deer mortality can be intense in small geographic areas.

It is endemic in the southern states where there are annual outbreaks, so some southern deer have developed immunity. In the northeast, however, outbreaks occur sporadically, so deer in New York have no immunity to the virus.

Sightings of sick or dead deer suspected of having the disease can be reported to the DEC via an online reporting form or by contacting the nearest DEC Regional Wildlife Office.

For more information about the disease, go here.