ALBANY COUNTY - Having made its first appearance in the state this fall in Voorheesville, Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease has now been confirmed elsewhere in Albany County and in some neighboring counties.

Deer in Albany, Rensselaer, and Niagara counties have tested positive for EHD, according to the state's Department of Environmental Conservation.

The disease primarily affects white-tailed deer and isn't known to cause illness in humans, said the state's wildlife pathologist, Dr. Ward Stone, after the first case was confirmed in October. 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 DEC 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. In October, Maureen Wren, DEC spokeswoman, said that this information was included because of other diseases, such as rabies, that deer may be carrying.

A replacement tag will be given to a hunter who harvests a diseased deer, the release says.

— Saranac Hale Spencer