The Truth about EHD (Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease) In Whitetail Deer

Hi, thanks for tuning in. Today, we're gonna talk a lot about EHD. For those of you that don't know, I'm Chris with Afflicted Broadheads, and my background before getting into the hunting industry was medical. So all of my former education is medical, so I tend to geek out on this type of thing, and EHD is certainly one of the things that I've been fascinated with. So what is EHD? EHD stands for epizootic hemorrhagic disease, and so you can pick up really quick in the middle there, you're talking about the word hemorrhage, and so that's basically what we're looking at with this virus. Now, it is a virus, and a lot of people compare EHD to BT, which is blue tongue. Now, even though deer can get blue tongue, blue tongue is usually associated with cattle, sheep, livestock, and there is vaccines for that. Would those vaccines work in the whitetail community? They probably would. Is it efficient at all to think about vaccinating a whitetail herd? I don't think so. So really, there's not a whole lot of control measures, but I'll talk to you at the end of the video here about a couple things you can do to help control the vector. So the vector is the critter that infects the deer with EHD, and that little critter is the Coelacoides midge. It's a midge fly. Some people call them no-see-ums or gnats. They're little buggers. They're the same ones that'll bite you in the woods, in fact. The only difference is you can't get the virus transmitted to you. It is non-transferable to humans either by the bite of the fly or by eating a deer that is infected with the virus. There is no transmission at all, so you don't have to worry about the handling of a deer that could have EHD. Why is that important? Well, after the deer is bitten by this midge fly, this Coelacoides, it has about a seven-day incubation period before it starts showing signs. Now, these signs, of course, are very familiar to people. They can get an enlarged neck, swollen blue tongue, swollen face, swollen eyes. They tend to drool a lot. One of the primary things is they lose all fear of humans, right? They'll be out in broad daylight during the day in public areas or walking right by you. They seem to have blinders on, if you will. In some areas, I thought that was the only way I was ever gonna shoot a trophy buck, but I never came across one with EHD. But anyway, that is some of the primary symptoms. So this is how this all takes place. In the summer months, fall months, early fall, you have deer that are going to a water source just to drink. Well, those water sources, if they have the right consistency of mud bank, that sort of thing, maybe even be a little bit of a swampy type area, a creek bank will work. Anything that has water, those are hosts to this Colicoides gnat. We're just gonna call it a no-see-em or a midge fly for the rest of the video. But that little gnat needs that mud to complete its life cycle. So you have the gnat lay its eggs in the mud. They'll incubate there over winter there. And then you have it pupate and hatch out the following season. Now, here's what's interesting about these little midge flies. First of all, just like mosquitoes, it's only the woman that wants to suck blood. So the male is a nectar feeder while the female midge fly is out for blood. And she can feed 10 to 20 times in a little period because she only lives 10 to 20 days. So she has a very brief time. But during this feeding time, she's looking for a blood meal to help nourish her eggs that she's gonna lay in the mud next to water. Starting to see the circle here a little bit, I hope. So you have this animal. It's a gnat. It's infecting the deer by biting them, typically around the face, up the nose, around the nostrils, that area, even up the nasal passages, they will typically bite. But anywhere that they can get in to get blood, they will take a meal, thus putting the virus into the whitetail. So after the virus is inside the whitetail, just seven day about incubation period, and then the deer is going to die within the next eight to 36 hours. What happens is, because of the hemorrhagic portion of this disease, it breaks down cell walls, inhibits totally clotting factor. So what you have happen, basically these cell walls, blood vessels break down, and the blood just leaks out. So you're primarily gonna affect heart, lungs, liver, spleen, and the whole digestive system. So this is a massive systematic breakdown of events, and that's why they die so fast after the incubation period. But one thing that's really curious is, they almost always die near or go to water. Now, originally there was a lot of speculation, oh, why are they going to water? What's this whole big deal? But they tend to die there because just like you when you get the flu, they have a raging fever, and they're hot, and they're thirsty, and their tongue is swollen, and they're drooling. So they are naturally going to head to a water source. By the time they head to that water source and hang around, they're in that eight to 36 hour period. Basically, they fall into a stroke-like state, lay down, and die. That's the simplicity of the disease. But EHD will usually, in a small populated area, infect about 90% of the deer that are in whatever area that gnat is in. And so what you have is a giant die-off of the population, and it can be really hard to recover from that, sometimes two to three years. The good news is that 10% average that survives will have an immunity from then on to EHD. And what's super cool about it is the does can actually pass that immunity on to their fawns. Now, I don't know if it goes beyond the fawns. I couldn't find any research to support that in any way, but at least you're getting a couple generations there where they are immune to EHD and can hopefully bounce back the population a little bit. It's especially good that the does are the ones that can pass that on so easily because that next generation, when they're ready to breed, whether buck or doe, can bring on a new cycle away, hopefully, from that disease being in the past and get that local population back up. So what can you do to control EHD? Well, in the general sense, in the wild and on public land and everywhere else, you can't. It's just going to happen anytime that you have an area that's suitable for breeding. And of course, if you have a drier summer, drought-like conditions where deer are congregating in those last little pools of water to feed, it's going to be a higher concentration of those midge flies and there's really nothing you can do about it at that stage. If you're managing your own property, there are some places, resources that you can go to see about how to shore up your banks so they're not mud. They suggest that you have a steeper fall-off, if you will, so you don't have a big length of mud leading to the water, kind of a drastic drop. Some people recommend stones and gravel and different things if this is a recurring problem on your property, you may get some control that way. The good news is, for us as hunters, is the midge fly, once it's in its adult form, cannot handle a frost. It's dead and done. So if you're in an area and you're plagued by EHD, kind of be praying for that first frost because that will knock it out and you'll be able to rebound whatever herd is left in your area. So I hope there was some tidbits in there about epizootic hemorrhagic disease, clear up a few myths. If you have any questions at all, drop them below and I will do my best to answer them. Thanks for watching.