Hundreds of deer have died due to an outbreak of an insidious disease carried by insects so small they’re almost invisible.
Wildlife officials throughout the eastern US have revealed that epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) is currently spreading, with many people finding dead deer near ponds and streams.
EHD is a virus that is often deadly for white-tailed deer, causing internal bleeding, loss of appetite, breathing problems, swelling around the head or eyes, and extreme fatigue.
Although the disease cannot be transmitted to people, wildlife authorities have warned locals and hunters not to eat any deer meat from animals found dead in the woods, especially near bodies of water.
Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) noted that deer with EHD may not have outward signs of the disease, and recommended not eating any ‘deer which have large, open sores.’
Some deer with the disease have been found propping their heads up on fences due to exhaustion and trying to swim to ease their high fevers.
Dozens of cases have been reported in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, with the disease being spread by midges, also called ‘no-see-ums.’
These tiny pests, which bite infected deer and carry the disease to others, are smaller than a mosquito and are found all over the US during warm and humid months.
Hundreds of deer in the eastern US are dying of epizootic hemorrhagic disease this summer (Stock Image)
This disease is spread by an insect called the midge, which is barely visible and smaller than a mosquito (Stock Image)
In Maryland, wildlife officials have reported 97 deer deaths likely due to epizootic hemorrhagic disease so far this year across nine counties, which is actually down from the 173 cases last year.
In Virginia, approximately 20 deer deaths from EHD have been documented in 2025, mainly in Loudoun, Fairfax, and Arlington counties.
Although the disease has spread across the surrounding area, no confirmed cases of EHD have been reported in Washington, DC, according to the city’s wildlife biologist.
The EHD virus, which causes the disease, is endemic to North America and was first discovered among white-tailed deer during outbreaks in New Jersey and Michigan in 1955, though similar die-offs have been seen as early as 1890.
Although humans are immune, other species vulnerable to EHD include mule deer, black-tailed deer, elk, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, and domestic livestock such as cattle, sheep, and goats.
EHD is rarely fatal to livestock like cattle and sheep, which often show only mild symptoms, unlike its high fatality rate for deer.
The biting midges that transmit EHD can carry other diseases, such as Oropouche virus, which causes Oropouche fever in humans in parts of the Caribbean, South America, and the US.
Luckily, their lifespans are not long, especially in the US, and the tiny insects typically all die out by October during the first frost of the fall.
Deer have been seen dying near ponds and streams as they try to ease their deadly fevers (Stock Image)
The midge, also known as no-see-ums, thrive in the humid climate of summer and typically die during the first frost in October (Stock Image)
While the disease can develop quietly in newly infected deer, wildlife experts have warned people to watch out for animals that have hoof problems, like cracked or ridged nails.
White-tailed deer will exhibit signs of the illness five to 10 days after being bitten by the no-see-ums.
‘Deer initially lose their appetite and fear of man, grow progressively weaker, often salivate excessively, exhibit shortness of breath, and finally become comatose,’ officials with Maryland DNR revealed.
This isn’t the only virus being carried by deer throughout the US this year.
Deer have also spotted with tumor-like growths hanging off their bodies, joining rabbits and squirrels with species-specific diseases and growths documented this year.
From the Northeast to the Pacific Northwest, pictures on social media have continued to expose cases of strange bubbles growing all over local deer, from their faces to their legs.
Wildlife officials have already identified the condition as deer cutaneous fibroma, better known as deer warts.
The virus mainly spreads through disease-carrying insects like mosquitoes and ticks, which pass on the blood of infected deer to healthy animals nearby.
Like the midges, these insects thrive in warmer and more humid climates, which doctors have warned means they could be more of a threat as the US experiences longer summers due to climate change.
