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William
Junior Member
193 Posts |
 Posted - 07/27/2004 : 00:17:25
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chris30-06,
Hemorrhagic disease, or blue-tongue, is spread by biting midges of the genus Culicoides. These are what most of us call gnats or no-see-ums. They are the same ones that bite you when you are hunting, especially during the warmer days of bow season. They transmit the virus from deer to deer. You cannot catch the virus when they bite you. The midges emerge in late summer and early fall. Concentrating deer during this time could increase its spread, as it would be easier for an infected midge to find another deer to bite. Some deer die from the disease, but most survive. Many of the survivors develop a very high fever, which actually interrupts the growth of the hooves. The hoof will then slough off, resulting in deformed hooves. Sometimes the whole hoof sloughs off at once. We monitor hoof sloughing as an index to the distribution of the disease each year. You can learn more about this disease by reading the article, "Hemorrahgic Disease and the White-tailed Deer" in the Fall/Winter 2003 issue of Wildlife Issues. Wildlife Issues can be found on this website.
Thanks for the question,
William T. McKinley |
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blue tongue disease
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