First case of virus found in state



VOORHEESVILLE — The death of deer here may be linked to global warming.

Twenty-eight deer in the last week have tested positive for Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease in the Voorheesville area in the first confirmed instances of the virus in New York.

The disease primarily affects white-tailed deer and isn’t known to cause illness in humans, said Dr. Ward Stone, the state’s wildlife pathologist. EHD attacks the cells that make up the walls of blood vessels, he explained, and usually within a few days’ time, the affected deer will die from internal bleeding.
"You still can hunt, you still can eat deer meat," said Stone.

The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation included in a press release on Tuesday a list of precautions that people should take if they do intend to eat venison, regardless of whether the deer may have EHD, including wearing rubber gloves when handling the animal, processing it promptly, and not mixing it with other meat. Maureen Wren, DEC spokeswoman, said that this information was included because of other diseases, such as rabies, that deer may be carrying.

The first call to the DEC came from Emery Lemiuex, a resident of Grant Hill Road, who hunts with friends near his home.
"We were cutting wood and found a deer," he said. That was about a month ago. Lemiuex also noticed an unusually high number of turkey vultures circling around his property and has now discovered five dead deer on his land, which prompted him to call the DEC about a week ago. The department announced on Tuesday that tests for EHD had confirmed the disease.

First identified in New Jersey in the 1950’s, EHD is concentrated in the South, where many deer have developed immunity to it, according to Dr. Dave Stallknecht an associate professor at the University of Georgia who has conducted recent research on EHD.
"The disease is very different as it moves north," he said, and estimated that between 70 and 90 percent of deer in the South have developed antibodies to the virus. A graduate student of his once did a study using deer taken from Texas and Pennsylvania. Both groups were exposed to two strains of EHD and none of the deer from Texas were affected while all of the deer from Pennsylvania were.
"Deer down here have evolved with the virus," he said, adding that, with the antibodies they have developed, "They are basically naturally vaccinated."

The disease, which is carried by the midge fly, better known as a no-see-em, usually doesn’t get further than New Jersey, said Stone. The warmer weather this year might have contributed to its spread north, he said.
"This is the biggest outbreak in the eastern U.S. I’ve seen," Stallknecht said of EHD this year. "It’s also the biggest drought I’ve seen."

His theory is that, with the dry spell in the South, ponds and lakes have been receding and exposing more of their muddy beds, which is where the midge fly breeds. An increase in the availability of breeding grounds taken with the fact that deer have to get closer to the mud in order to drink water means that there is an increase in disease.
And, he said of the disease’s migration north with the midge fly, "They’re notorious for being moved with the wind."

Right now, the only confirmed cases have been in Voorheesville, but, Stone said, he is investigating elsewhere in Albany County. Anybody who has noticed unusual deer behavior should contact the DEC.
The disease will likely disappear when cold weather arrives, Stone said, since the flies will die. "Lots of times, the first frost is in September, after the 15th," he said. "Here we are a month later and our area hasn’t had a real frost."
"There’s a warning here, too," said Stone, "about global warming and its impact."