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DNR photo
‘This is a rapid and gruesome disease to contend with.’
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
FERRY TOWNSHIP — Over 20 dead deer were recently found in a pond along M 20 known as Zeek Lake, and wildlife experts are saying that the animals died from epizootic hemorrhagic disease or EHD.
EHD is a viral, sometimes fatal disease that periodically affects white-tailed deer in Michigan, states the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in a press release. It is transmitted through the bite of an infected midge, or biting fly. Deer cannot transmit the disease directly to one another—the virus must pass through the insect.
There is no evidence that humans, household pets or other Michigan wildlife can contract the EHD virus. Venison harvested in areas affected by EHD is safe for consumption, according to the DNR.
Sick and dead deer are often found in or around bodies of water. Due to a high fever and dehydration, deer infected with EHD often seek water to lower their body temperature and rehydrate.
“We do not recommend consuming any animals that are visibly sick, but healthy deer harvested from areas where EHD has been present are still safe to eat,” said Brent Rudolph, deer, elk, and moose management specialist for the DNR Wildlife Division. “We’re up to eight counties for 2026 right now confirmed as having an EHD outbreak ongoing,” Rupdolph said Thursday, Sept. 24. Although Oceana County is not yet on the list, reports of EHD are being examined.
“We have reports from Oceana, but I don’t know if we have collected samples.” The only way to confirm is by sampling a carcass. There was a confirmed outbreak of EHD in Oceana County in 2013.
“It’s to be determined whether we get samples and have the information to categorize it for 2026 yet or not. The reason that it’s likely is the disease is associated with a midge, which is a small biting insect that breeds in mud flats, so around ponds, lakes and streams. Generally, once you get drought or warm conditions, the water draws down and you have this muddy soil around it, and that is where these insects breed. They don’t move very far, and that’s where they are most likely to be biting deer and transmitting the virus.”
“The disease causes deer to congregate and die near water,” said DNR Public Information Officer Edward Golder.
“Sometimes they’re drawn to that water, because the hemorrhagic part of the name of the disease is because there is a lot of internal bleeding or hemorrhaging, so they basically get dehydrated,” said Rudolph. They’re running a fever, and they often head to water to try to cool off or get a drink. Typically whitetails are able to get enough water just from their diet, but they’re becoming severely dehydrated.”
“Because the disease progresses so rapidly, you often see several dead deer in these kinds of settings. Something like Chronic Wasting Disease takes a really long time to progress. You very rarely see multiple deer all at the same place. EHD is different—it happens pretty quickly. This is a rapid and gruesome disease to contend with.”
EHD outbreaks among Michigan whitetail deer populations are generally from about mid-August until the first hard frost, which kills off the adult midges, said Rudolph.
“It’s not spread deer-to-deer, it’s only spread by the insect itself.”
“EHD is common when we have drought,” said DNR Sgt. Ben Shively. “It is a biting midge that is exposed and will come up and bite the deer. It causes high temperatures, and that’s why deer end up going to water to try to cool themselves down and that’s where they eventually pass.”
DNR photo
The public is encouraged to report sick or dead deer and other wildlife to the DNR here.
As samples are submitted from additional counties, any further detections will be posted on the DNR’s EHD webpage.
EHD outbreaks can be more severe in years when there is a wet spring followed by a hot, dry summer.
Visible symptoms of EHD in deer include appearing lethargic, disoriented, lame or unresponsive, although these can be symptoms of other deer maladies or injuries. Deer infected with EHD may show bloody discharge from the nose and mouth, a swollen or blue-tinged tongue and swelling of the eyelids and around the neck or head. EHD can only be confirmed through testing by a qualified laboratory.
Once EHD is confirmed in a county, it is not necessary to continue testing for the virus, but the DNR encourages continued reporting of suspected cases online to track the full extent of an outbreak.
Although EHD outbreaks have not been shown to have a significant long-term effect on deer populations in Michigan, deer mortality can be intense in small geographic areas and local impact may persist for a few years.
Dr. Scott Larsen, veterinarian for the DNR Wildlife Division, said that not all deer in outbreak areas will contract EHD, and not all deer that get EHD will die from it.
“The impacts of EHD on northern states seems to be changing,” Larsen said. “As weather in Michigan has become warmer and wetter, conditions have become more favorable to the EHD virus, and the biting midges that carry it. A different strain of the virus has also emerged in this part of the country in the last few years, making for a more complex situation for deer herds to develop immunity, since immunity to one strain doesn’t necessarily provide full immunity to other strains.”
“It’s a disease that has been around for a long time in the southeastern U.S., but as we continue to have warming weather with hotter, drier summers, the conditions are changing so that midge can survive in Michigan, and before it couldn’t,” said Rudolph.
EHD can affect cattle, said Rudolph. “It doesn’t cause mortality, but it can cause illness.”
Archery deer season in Michigan opens next Thursday, Oct. 1. It runs through Nov. 14, 2026 and from Dec. 1, 2026 to Jan. 1, 2027, and regular firearm season runs from Nov. 15-30.
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