Since early September, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Wildlife Division has documented in more than 50 white-tailed deer exhibiting symptoms associated with Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHDV-6), primarily in the towns of Middletown and Portland, with a few in Chester, Haddam, and Lyme.
EHDV-6 is transmitted to deer by tiny biting flies (midges). Although the virus has also been detected in other mammals, including mule deer, elk, and domestic cattle, white-tailed deer represent 95% of the affected animals. Once infected, the disease progresses rapidly with deer exhibiting symptoms that include swollen head, neck, tongue, or eyelids with a bloody discharge from the nasal cavity; ulcers on the tongue; and hemorrhaging of the heart and lungs followed by death within three to five days. The virus also creates high feverish conditions, causing infected deer to sometimes be found in or near water sources.
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