Two Scary Deer Illnesses Are Spreading in the U.S. - Gizmodo
On Monday, Minnesota officials enacted an emergency order to stop the local travel and importation of farmed deer, in hopes of slowing down the spread of a universally fatal prion disease among wild deer.
Meanwhile, in Vermont, wildlife officials today announced the first known case of another deadly deer disease within the state, one that causes massive internal bleeding.
CWD is overall rare among wild and farmed deer, but many wildlife experts fear that the disease is an urgent threat that’s becoming worse.“This disease poses a clear, immediate and serious threat to Minnesota’s wild deer, and these actions reflect what’s at stake,” said Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Sarah Stromme in a statement by the agency.This same day, the Department of Fish and Wildlife in Vermont issued their own deer-related alert, after finding the first case of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) among wild deer in at least two regions of the state.EHD has never been shown to affect humans, and eating meat from infected animals isn’t considered a direct risk—that said, EHD deer may be sick in other ways, so it’s still not recommended.