West Virginia monitoring seasonal hemorrhagic disease in deer populations

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Cases of hemorrhagic disease in deer have been confirmed in Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie, and Wood counties in West Virginia, officials with the W.Va. Division of Natural Resources announced.

According to Brett McMillion, director of the division, the West Virginia counties are near counties in Ohio, where the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has also confirmed the disease.

Division biologists are reminding the public that hemorrhagic disease is harmless to humans and not a long-term threat to deer.

“While seeing sick or dead deer may be concerning, we want to assure the public that hemorrhagic disease is a natural, seasonal disease that occurs in deer populations,” McMillion said.

“Our biologists monitor and investigate reports of hemorrhagic disease each year, and there is often no difference noticeable by hunters in deer populations following a typical outbreak in West Virginia,” he said.

“These outbreaks should not discourage hunters from enjoying West Virginia’s fall hunting opportunities for deer and other game species.”

Division staff continue to investigate reports of sick deer across the state, McMillion said. Approximately 75 deer have been reported by the public as suspects for hemorrhagic disease, which is a viral disease in deer that is spread by small biting flies called midges.

Outbreaks are irregular and occur seasonally, usually in late summer and early fall when midge activity is at its highest, and stop after the first hard frost kills the insects.

While hemorrhagic disease can cause illness and death in deer, it poses no known health risk to humans and is not known to infect people or household pets. The disease is not spread from deer to deer or by the carcasses of deceased deer.

Even in areas where hemorrhagic disease occurs, not all deer in the area will become infected, and not all infected deer will die as a result of infection. Survivors clear the infection, develop antibodies, and are immune to future infection by the same virus. While it is never a good idea to consume a sick animal, hunters should note that venison from healthy deer that have recovered from hemorrhagic disease poses no human health risks.

This wildlife disease should not be confused with chronic wasting disease, which is a different disease with long-term impacts on wild deer populations that the division manages under special regulations.

To learn more about chronic wasting disease and special regulations regarding West Virginia’s chronic wasting disease containment area, check page 14 in the Hunting Regulations Summary, available to download at WVDNR.gov/hunting-regulations.

Individuals who see sick or dead deer should report the sighting and location to their local division district office. Contact information for each district office is available at WVDNR.gov/contact.