(Des Moines)– Deer hunting may look a little different for some Iowa hunters due to an outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease in deer or EHD. Jace Elliot is a state deer biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources…
“At this point in 2024 we have over 2,500 cases making it the new most second severe outbreak.”
So far, EHD has been detected in 94 of Iowa’s 99 counties. Elliot says the course of EHD in deer tends to run between July and October in Iowa…
“Hunters that observe deer carcasses near a water source, when that carcass likely died between, you know, July and October and when there’s more than one carcass in an area, those are all indications that EHD is the culprit.”
He says EHD is NOT transmitted deer-to-deer…
“Midges, they’re a biting insect. Some folks refer to them as no see ’ems. But it’s important to note that these biting insects that feed on the blood of deer are actually what’s transmitting the infection.”
Elliot says EHD does not pose a human consumption risk.
