WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Deer in some parts of Kansas are dying from a disease spread by tiny insects.
The state’s park department says epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD, has been found in much of the eastern one-third of the state and as far west as Butler and McPherson counties.
Lloyd Fox, a big game coordinator with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, says the disease is most common in years with extended drought. That forces deer to drink from stagnant pools of water, which are breeding grounds for midges, tiny insects that pass infected blood from one deer to another.
The Wichita Eagle reports the disease cannot be passed to humans or pets. Cattle can get the disease but it rarely kills them and sheep can be vulnerable to EHD.
