The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has confirmed a certain disease in deer in Putnam and Orange Counties.
The DEC confirmed on Thursday that several white-tailed deer in Nelsonville and Cold Spring in Putnam County and near Goshen in Orange County died after contracting Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, or EHD. EHD virus is carried by biting midges, small bugs often called no-see-ums or ‘punkies.’ Once infected with EHD, deer usually die within 36 hours. The disease is not spread from deer to deer or from deer to humans. The EHD virus was first confirmed in New York in 2007 in Albany, Rensselaer and Niagara counties, and in Rockland County in 2011. A deer infected with EHD may appear lame or dehydrated.
