ATHENS COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) – Deer season is right around the corner, and deer are getting a specific disease earlier than normal.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife said Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease is common among deer, but it doesn’t usually start until August and September.
Since this disease is starting to break out earlier this year, we spoke with the Division of Wildlife to see what people need to know.
“They cannot give it to humans, they cannot give it to pets, they cannot give it to livestock,” said Michael Donofrio. “So it’s a deer specific only. And the deer are not the ones to transmit it. It’s the midges that are the ones that bite the deer and give the diseases to the deer.”
Midges are small insects that resemble mosquitoes.
Wildlife experts said the disease may impact drivers on the road.
“They’re not necessarily moving fast at that stage, but what they are doing, they might be standing in the middle of a blind curve or somewhere along a highway where people are doing 60 or 70 miles an hour and they come upon that really quick before they realize what it is,” Donofrio said.
The disease may cause deer to be disoriented and not have all their faculties.
“Because their faculties are diminished, they might not recognize what’s going on. They might interpret it as something completely different,” Donofrio said.
Wildlife officials are encouraging people to call and report possible sick deer instead of approaching them.
For more information on the disease, visit the Ohio Department of Natural Resources website.
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