FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources says a deadly virus has been found in a white-tailed deer in the state.
The agency said the white-tailed female deer recovered from Graves County in western Kentucky tested positive for hemorrhagic disease, sometimes referred to as “blue tongue” or epizootic hemorrhagic disease. This is the state’s first case this year.
State wildlife veterinarian Christine Casey says the virus is transmitted to deer by small biting flies and can’t be transmitted to people or pets. Outbreaks of the disease usually last from late summer until the first hard frost.
The disease is different from chronic wasting disease, which has never been detected in Kentucky.
The department cautions against eating the meat from a deer that doesn’t appear healthy.
