Disease Killing Deer Across Region: Outbreak is Worst in McLean County
By Jake Jennings, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
Aug. 16–The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is investigating deaths in the white-tailed deer herd over an 11-county area of western Kentucky.
Tests results aren’t complete, but officials suspect hemorrhagic disease carried by biting gnats is responsible.
The worst outbreak is in McLean County, where more than 20 deer have been reported dead. The dead or weak and emaciated deer are often found in or near water.
“Hemorrhagic disease is caused by a virus. We see large outbreaks about every two years in Kentucky,” said Danny Watson, a department wildlife biologist.
Other affected counties are Breckinridge, Christian, Daviess, Hopkins, Logan, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Simpson and Webster.
Archery season for deer opens statewide Sept. 1. Hemorrhagic disease is not infectious to humans, according to the department.
Tracy Bell, conservation officer in McLean County, said several people contacted him in the last two weeks to report dead deer. He’s retrieved two carcasses, one out of the yard of a home in Daviess County, the other out of a pond in McLean County.
Some of the animals were sent to a laboratory in Hopkinsville for testing.
Mike Henshaw, regional program coordinator for the department, said the lab hasn’t isolated a cause for the deaths. But with the lack of rain and plenty of stagnant water, conditions are “ideal” for the spread of gnats that serve as a vector for the illness, he said.
The last significant outbreak of hemorrhagic disease was in 2003, Henshaw said. But that mainly affected another part of the state, leaving the herd in this area with little or no immunity.
Local deer populations can be hit hard. A survey of a farm in eastern Webster County along the Green River found 20 dead deer, Henshaw said.
Last Friday, Bell launched a boat on the river at Sebree, headed upstream toward Calhoun and, over a mile and a half stretch, counted five carcasses in the water, he said. Bell also counted three deer in the river near Central City on Sunday.
Signs of the disease depend on the strength of the virus and length of infection in the animal. Hemorrhagic disease causes fever, labored breathing and swelling. Infected deer may die within 72 hours, or they may carry the disease for months.
The lab has plenty of carcasses for testing, but the public is encouraged to call in reports and let wildlife officials “know what people are seeing,” Henshaw said.
Reporting
To report dead deer, contact Mike Henshaw, regional program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources in Calhoun, at 273-3569.
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