Mississippi deer virus outbreak

The Mississippi wildlife biologists suspect its deer population may be experiencing an outbreak of Hemorrhagic Disease, commonly called blue-tongue. It's caused by a virus and is transmitted deer to deer by insect midges of the genus Culicoides. Deer Program Coordinator William T. McKinley said his department tracks the outbreaks through hunter reports and the sloughing hooves from deer harvested every year. He says the virus follows a three to five-year cycle. "Mississippi has had four consecutive years with low Hemorrhagic Disease activity. In the southeastern U.S., outbreaks usually result in less than 10 percent mortality," McKinley told WAPT. (Source: WAPT 09/29/21)