The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports an outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, or EHD, has been affecting deer primarily in south central Iowa recently, and the DNR Conservation Officer for Guthrie, Greene, and Audubon counties informs hunters on what kind of threat this poses.

According to Conservation Officer Jeremy King, EHD is caused by a virus spread by female midges that feed on deer. The virus causes a high fever in the deer and the cell membranes in their heart, lungs and diaphragm to weaken and burst. Infected deer usually die within a few days, so it’s not typically easy to spot one that has EHD while they’re alive, but King shares how to look out for the disease, “What you’ll typically see is those deer close to water and they will be rather lethargic and not responsive to human presence so they might be standing there with their head down or not willing to move or let you get very close to them. Other than that, since it happens so quick they don’t start wasting away and I don’t want people to confuse EHD or Bluetongue with CWD, which stands for Chronic Wasting Disease.”

King says there is no ready solution for EHD, but it does not pose a health threat to humans if consumed. If a hunter has shot and killed a deer believed to have EHD, King advises them to contact him immediately, as the window of time for biologists to take a sample to test for EHD is very short. You can contact King at 712-250-0061.