"Blue Tongue"

[buckshot roberts]

:frown It looks to be a bad season here in Ol ' Kentucky.... we have an outbreak of EHD...........................
"AKA" blue tongue...as we call it around here... we've had no rain at all this summer...temp's were just to dang high for these parts.... i've never seen so many dead deer in my life.... the varmints want eat'em..... read some of the states up north have it as well .....monday i was checking out a new place to squirrel hunt and found 5 dead deer with in 2 hours of scouting the area.... the season is not looking so good...
Ron
 

[davidlt89]

Ron sorry to hear that my friend. But Glad to see ya posting, just wish it were better circumstances. I am not familiar with EHD and what it does to the deer?

[buckshot roberts]

I'm a first for it also.... I'll just copy this for ya...

[SIZE=-1]Description[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) is an acute, infectious, often fatal viral disease of some wild ruminants. This malady, characterized by extensive hemorrhages, has been responsible for significant epizootics in deer in the northern United States and southern Canada.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]A similar hemorrhagic disease called bluetongue also occurs throughout the U.S. and Canada. The two diseases are antigenically different.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Distribution[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Since 1890, deer die-offs from diseases which might have been EHD have occurred in various parts of North America. These early die-offs were variously diagnosed as blackleg, blacktongue, bluetongue, mycotic stomatitis or hemorrhagic septicemia or they were undetermined. The causative agents were never confirmed. A review of the case histories, signs and lesions, seasonal occurrence, and lack of a bacterial agent suggests that they might have been EHD.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]The first occurrence and subsequent identification of EHD occurred in 1955 when several hundred white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) succumbed in both New Jersey and in Michigan. It was considered a new disease of deer and the name `epizootic hemorrhagic disease' was suggested to describe its main clinical and pathological features.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Since these initial confirmed outbreaks of EHD, documented epizootics have occurred in white-tailed deer in South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming and Alberta, Canada. Suspected EHD outbreaks have occurred in Missouri, Washington, Nebraska, Iowa and British Columbia. South Dakota, Missouri and Nebraska have experienced periodic outbreaks of EHD and the disease might be considered enzootic in these areas.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Since the initial 1955 outbreak, this malady has occurred primarily among white-tailed deer, although occasionally mule deer (O. hemionus) and pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) have succumbed.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Additional die-offs attributed to EHD occurred in Michigan in white-tailed deer in 1974 and 2006. The 1974 die-off occurred in several counties and resulted in approximately 100 deer dying. The 2006 die-off occurred in the southwestern portion of the state in Allegan county and involved 50-75 animals.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Transmission and Development[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]The mode of transmission of EHD in nature is via a Culicoides biting fly or gnat. Culicoides variipennis is the most commonly incriminated vector in North America. A common observation in outbreaks involving large numbers of deer - as in Michigan, New Jersey and Alberta - is that they are single epizootics which do not recur. Die-offs involving small numbers of deer - as experienced in South Dakota and Nebraska - occur almost annually, and the disease appears to be enzootic in these areas. All documented outbreaks of EHD have occurred during late summer and early fall (August-October) and have ceased abruptly with the onset of frost.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Experimentally, the disease can be transmitted to susceptible deer by the inoculation of virus-laden material from infected deer by subcutaneous, intramuscular, intravenous or oral routes.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Clinical Signs[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Clinical signs of EHD and bluetongue are very similar.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]White-tailed deer develop signs of illness about 7 days after exposure. A constant characteristic of the disease is its sudden onset. Deer initially lose their appetite and fear of man, grow progressively weaker, often salivate excessively, develop a rapid pulse and respiration rate, and finally become unconscious. Hemorrhage and lack of oxygen in the blood results in a blue appearance of the oral mucosa, hence the name 'bluetongue'. Eight to 36 hours following the onset of observable signs, deer pass into a shock-like state, become prostrate and die.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Pathology[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]The gross and histological lesions of EHD have been characterized by, as its name implies, extensive hemorrhage. The hemorrhages range from pinpoint to massive in size, and involve different tissues and organs in individual animals. No organs appear to be exempt from hemorrhage, with the most regularly involved being the heart, liver, spleen, kidney, lung and intestinal tract. Extensive hemorrhaging is the result of interference with the blood-clotting mechanism together with degeneration of blood vessel walls.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Generalized edema and increased pericardial fluid are consistently found in EHD. These changes also reflect the widespread interference with normal blood circulation.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]The virus can be recovered from a variety of tissues of animals which have succumbed to EHD. These include blood, liver, spleen, kidney, lung, heart and muscle.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Diagnosis[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]A combination of case history, characteristic signs and lesions, and the isolation of the virus is necessary for a diagnosis of EHD. Useful aids in obtaining a diagnosis are the epizootic nature of the disease, its seasonal occurrence, and its spectacular hemorrhagic lesions. Because of the similarity of its symptoms to other diseases, such as bluetongue and malignant catarrhal fever, the isolation and identification of the virus is essential.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Methods to be used for virus isolation are: (1) inoculation of cell cultures; (2) inoculation of susceptible sheep or deer combined with serologic monitoring; and (3) intravenous inoculation of embryonating chicken eggs.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Treatment and Control[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]There is no known effective treatment or control of EHD. Theoretically, an oral vaccine could be developed for administration through a supplementary winter feeding program, but this is presently impossible, impractical and unwarranted.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Significance[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Because of its very high mortality rate, EHD can have a significant effect upon the deer population in a given area, reducing numbers drastically. Hemorrhagic disease can be transmitted to other wild ruminants. The EHD virus can infect domestic animals but rarely causes disease.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]In all probability the virus does not infect humans.[/SIZE]
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

[Daryl (deceased)]

Welcome back, Ron!  Good to see you posting. :)
 
I took the liberty of turning that dark text white for you.  It's was pretty hard to read.
 
Take care, amigo.  I hope things are going good for you!
 
Daryl

[buckshot roberts]

Hay thanks.... it's good to be back... sure did miss this place.....  never saw anything like this....

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

    I am sorry to report that Blue Tongue has made it to the UK and here it's infected cattle so there are all sorts of restrictions on Deer stalking and movement of hoofed animals and this just after Hoof and Mouth outbreaks

[Paul Hoskins]

Ron, a week or so ago I was talking to Gitano on the phone and a button head buck wandred into the back yard. It did act rather strange to me. It was a skinny little fellow and I'm sure hoping we don't have that plague happening around here too. I noticed the other deer that habit the back yard are very bony this year but laid the blame on a dry summer. I put a tub of water out for them and they were rather hesitant to utilize it but have now adapted to it and are drinking from it. I have been feeding them shell corn for a couple weeks and they seem to be putting on a little weight. They have been eating bread and apples I put out for them. Apparently they don't like rye bread tho. Must not be Jewish deer. Going to camp this weekend and want to wander around while my brother fishes. I'll check and see if I find anything suspicious......Paul H

[bowhunter 51]

Oh,...Man!.....I don't like the sound of that gloom & doom.....I've already
been following that degenerative desease, I can't call the name, but
hasn't become a problem in Tennessee, yet....You can bet, I'll be
researching this new threat, Ron...This is too close to home...:undecided: ....
............Glad to hear from you again, Buckshot.....................BH51...............

[Paul Hoskins]

Went to deer camp and checked things out today on the farm we lease. Stopped at a truck stop for breakfast before going on over to the farm. One of the fellows the owner bums around with came in and I invited him to sit with my brother and me. In our conversation, Woody told me a friend of his was bowhunting and went by a farm pond on the property he hunts and found 20 something dead deer around the pond. From what Woody tells me it is "bluetongue." Apparently the wardens checked them out and we do have a problem with bluetongue here in northern Ky. Supposedly after it starts frosting, things will clear up. We had a light frost here this morning in low areas. With all the deer we have in the neighborhood and northern Ky. there could be a significant die off. Something is needed to thin the population down to a more reasonable level anyway. Hunters aren't making a dent in them.
 
While my brother fished, I wandered around and checked the food plots and bait sites. The corn is now ripe and deer are using it but coons are doing a lot of damage. I dropped off several mineral blocks and a block of feed that deer in my back yard won't eat. It looks and smells like compressed cow feed to me. Saw one nice buck on top of the ridge and wasn't prepared to get a picture of it. By the time I got the camera out and the electric turned on the deer headed back into the woods. I pointed the camera his direction and hit the button anyway but only got a picture of where he used to be. The buck appeared to be a six or eight pointer. Difficult to see with the sun in my face. While I was at the feed store buying more corn, my little sweetheart that helps me with puter problems was there. After I got home she called just before dark and told me her 14 year old son had just killed an 8 pointer with his bow. His dad killed an 11 pointer the first week of bow season. I'll have to get pictures from baby and post them. She may be up here tomorrow........Paul H

[Hunterbug]

Hi Ron, good to see you. That's a bummer about the deer.

[ucpatriot67]

i to am a ky hunter from north eastern kentuky.  i was wondering if this disease is contractable by humans in any form? and if so what are the effects this disease will cause?

[Paul Hoskins]

Patriot67, welcome to THL forums. From what I pulled up on the disease, it isn't something humans can get but I don't put a lot of faith in things I read. A friend in Maine said he read on the puter humans can contract the disease. Since there is no known cases of humans contracting bluetongue, I can't understand why he tells me this. ..........Paul H

[Antler3]

Real sorry to hear about the Kentuky deer herd ...hope it recovers well. They say once cold weather hits it stops.

[rabbitrunner]

For Paul Hoskins and Buckshot Roberts: What parts of No. Ky do you guys hunt. We went to our farm in Brown Co. Oh. last weekend and walked the property (310 acres). In 2 hours we stopped counting at 22 does and 7 bucks. Because of our route I don't believe we jumped the same deer repeatedly. All these deer looked healthy too. Just wondering how far this Blue Tongue has gotten as Brown County is just across the river from Maysville and things don't seem to be as bad as you describe in Kentucky, yet our area had a similiar hot, dry summer.

[Paul Hoskins]

Rr, I live and hunt twenty to forty miles south of Cincinnati. Your place isn't that far away from northern Ky. Maysville is east of me something like fifty miles..........Paul H

[Paul Hoskins]

My buddy from Maine, Mike and I wound up the first week of our deer season with six deer and no signs of bluetongue. All the deer we killed were really fat and healthy. Today I looked at the remains of a deer killed by bluetongue but couldn't really tell anything about it because it was decomposed so bad. There was still velvet on the rack. A really nice 10 pointer with long tines. Shame it went to waste like that.............Paul H

[Stryker]

They actually covered this on the annual call in show for Kentucky Afield with a biologist about 2 weeks ago. They also have a good article on the F&W website. Basically it's a common disease that affescts deer annually but it is more prevalent during years of drought. Deer cannot trasmit the disease to humans or other animals, the only way to get it is to be bitten by an infected midge gnat. During bad years it could affect up to 25% of the herd, but Kentucky has only documented 3000 cases to date out of a herd estimated to be over 975,000. It is safe to eat the meat of an infected deer, however the state has always stressed you should avoid harvesting an animal that is obviously sick.

[rabbitrunner]

Paul: Congrats on a good hunt. I'll be out early Monday for our opener. Looks like a wet one for the first 2 days. Hope I have success early.