The Most Common Deer Diseases – Deer like other ruminant, it can be infected with a wide range of diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, protozoa, ectoparasites and endoparasites. Commonly reported viral diseases are Malignant Catarrhal Fever, Blue Tongue, Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease and Chronic Wasting Disease.
The incidence of viral diseases can be transmitted from domestic livestock such as cows and sheep, as well as additional feed contaminated with the virus.
Commonly reported bacterial diseases are: Anthrax Disease, Brucellosis, Paratuberculosis Disease, Yersiniosis and Salmonellosis. The diseases caused by these bacteria are zoonotic.
An ectoparasite that is quite dangerous for deer and other animals, including humans, is Tick Paralysis caused by the bite of the Dermacentor variabilis tick. The bite of the tick can lead to the sudden death in the landlady. Worm infection in general causes a decrease in the condition of the animal in question.
Most Common Deer Diseases
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)
The zombie deer disease is outbreak throughout the Midwest, USA. Some experts warn it could pose a threat to humans. Even this zombie deer disease can be contagious to humans.
In medical terms, the disease is called chronic wasting disease affecting deer, elk, and moose. The disease erodes the brain so that animals salivate and lethargic like zombies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains that cases of chronic wasting disease have been reported in at least 24 states as well as two provinces in Canada.
The disease is always fatal. It is thought to spread among animals through contact with contaminated bodily fluids and tissues. It can also be transmitted indirectly through environmental exposure. For example, contaminated drinking water or food.
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD)
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) is a hemorrhagic disease in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) caused by a viral infection of the genus Orbivirus hereby called Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV).
It is an infectious, and sometimes fatal, virus characterized by extensive bleeding, and it is found throughout the United States. Large-scale outbreaks of wild ruminants affect livestocks and the production industry.
EHD has been found in several domestic ruminants and many deer species including white-tailed deer, mule deer, and pronghorn antelopes.
Seropositive black-tailed deer, fallow deer, red deer, wapiti, and roe deer have also been found, which basically means that they have been exposed to the disease at some time in the past, but may not be involved in transmission.
EHD outbreaks have been reported in cows, although they rarely get sick or die. Sheep can show clinical symptoms; However, this is also rare.
EHD is often called bluetongue, but this is wrong. The Bluetongue virus is closely related to EHDV, and has similar clinical symptoms, but it is a different disease. Bluetongue is a serious disease in cows, as well as other ruminant, and can have a significant impact on international trade. Testing in animal health laboratories is necessary to distinguish between bluetongue and EHD-causing viruses.
Bovine Tuberculosis (BTB)
This type of tuberculosis is quite rare. Although it has been removed from commercial livestocks, bacteria are still found in some other types of animals such as bulls and deer.
Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis. As with TB in humans, bTB also affects the airways and human respiratory system.
This one bacteria infect a lot of a person through unpasteurized milk or dairy products. The disease can also be transmitted through direct contact with animal wounds. Direct contact generally occurs when hunting or slaughtering infected animals.
Read also:
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy: Definition, Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention
The information about the deer diseases that can infect deer, it is expected to help deer breeders. So that preparation and anticipation can be done as early as possible to avoid the risk of disease, in an effort to achieve high economic value in a livestock business.
