October 21, 1999

A disease common in eastern Virginia but rarely seen west of the Blue Ridge is killing off deer at the Avtex Fibers Superfund site in Front Royal, a state official said Wednesday.

Hemorrhagic disease has killed about 35 deer on the site, and several residents around the site have found dead or dying deer in recent weeks, State Game and Inland Fisheries Wildlife Biologist David Kocka said.

Blood and tissue samples taken from deer at the Avtex site have verified that the disease is present in the herd, he said. The disease isn’t related to the pollution at the former rayon factory, he said.

"It’s nothing to do with it being a Superfund site," Kocka said. "We experience this every year somewhere in Virginia."

The disease is common in late summer and fall in Virginia and other southeastern states, but is usually found in the Piedmont and Coastal Plains regions here, he said.

"We don’t see it much west of the Blue Ridge," he said.

Hemorrhagic disease is related to blue-tongue virus, a disease sometimes seen in cattle, and is spread by bites from a tiny midge, Culicoides, also known as sand gnats, sand flies, no-see-ums and punkies, according to brochure on the disease by the Southern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study.

Kocka said state officials expected an outbreak this fall because deer in Maryland and North Carolina were already dying from the virus.

The disease will wane for the season once the area is hit by a hard frost, which kills off the midges, he said.

Chris Ramsey, whose farm is across the South Fork of the Shenandoah River from Avtex, said he has found more that a half-dozen dead deer on his property and seen several others that were apparently sick.

Some were frothing at the mouth and one was too weak to jump a fence, he said.

Town resident Chris North said he’s found two dead deer in his estranged wife’s yard on Viscose Avenue next to the Avtex site.

Kocka said the disease poses no risk to humans, although the brochure recommends against eating deer that have died of the disease.

The illness mainly hits white-tailed deer, but can also show up in mule and black-tailed deer, bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope, the brochure says. Cattle and goats can be made mildly sick by it, and domestic sheep may become severely ill, it says. There’s no evidence that the illness is spread by contact with infected deer or other animals. Deer that have the disease are often found near water, Kocka said. The illness causes high fevers and the animals head toward water to try to cool down, he said.

Infected deer may have swollen heads, necks or eyelids, and have difficulty breathing, the brochure says. Most die within three days, although some survive, it says.

Kocka said scientists often visit hunters checking stations to look for signs of outbreaks and study deer’s hooves for signs of "sloughing," when the fevers cause a hoof to crack or slough off.

This summer’s drought may have made herds more likely to contract the disease, which can kill off between 25 percent and 50 percent of a herd, the brochure says.

Anyone who has seen a dead or dying deer they believe may have the disease can contact the regional Game and Inland Fisheries office at 248-9360.

Hemorrhagic disease has been found in deer in some eastern Virginia counties this year, Kocka said. The local outbreak appears to be limited to an area in and around Front Royal, he said.

Officials at the Shenandoah National Park haven’t reported any instances of the disease in the park this fall, he said.