CWD & EHD Alphabet Soup

As we get into the heart of deer season, those that enjoy watching or hunting deer have noticed the obvious decline in the deer population. The question is why? As with many things in nature, it’s the perfect storm of reasons. One of the many reasons for wildlife population management is because when animal populations become too large there is a spread of disease. Another reason for population management is destruction of natural resources. Years of large deer populations means more crop damage, for both your fields and gardens.

Deer health is a big topic right now due to two different acronyms: CWD & EHD. Since these are two main issues in Iowa right now, they are commonly confused with each other. Let’s breakdown the alphabet soup. CWD stands for chronic wasting disease.  Simply put, this is a prion protein issue that effects the brain. It will make holes in the brain causing poor coordination, drooling, drooping ears, etc. It will kill a deer and can easily be passed from one deer to another through saliva and other bodily excretions. It can affect deer, elk, moose, and caribou.

NO, we do not have this in Cherokee County, yet. NO, humans cannot get CWD from deer; however humans have their own version of this called CJD or Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. 

Another deer health issue in our area is EHD or epizootic hemorrhagic disease. This is most prevalent in drought years, causing deer to go near large water sources that happen to also be insect breeding grounds. Insects known as midges, like those annoying summer “no-see-ums,” transmit this disease to deer when they bite them.  Deer may experience fever, respiratory distress, hoof lesions, swelling in the head, neck, and tongue and ultimately bleeding in the skin, heart, and gut. Deer can survive EHD, though many area residents have seen many dead deer this year and last as a result of the disease. Most die near a water source. 

YES, we have this in Cherokee County. NO, there is no evidence that EHD viruses can infect humans.

The Iowa DNR has more information on their website if you feel like you need more information. Landowners and hunters are encouraged to report the dead deer that they find (those that did not die as a result of hunting) vis the Iowa DNR website and Iowa DNR staff are actively collecting lymph node samples from deer hunted or hit by car to test for EHD and CWD so they can stay on top of the transmission of both. 

Reporting is online and also has associated interactive maps that allow you to see which counties have which infections. Go to www.iowadnr.gov and search for Deer Hunting to read about Deer Health.