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PARKERSBURG — A disease killing deer in Washington and Athens counties in Ohio has been confirmed in Wood and some surrounding West Virginia counties.

Testing has confirmed dead deer in Wood, Jackson, Pleasants and Ritchie counties were infected with epizootic hemorrhagic disease, said Ethan Barton, wildlife disease specialist for the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources.

The disease is common in the area and poses no health risk to humans or companion animals, he said.

While some deer can survive it and develop immunity, EHD has no known treatment in wild populations. Symptoms can include a fever; swelling of the head, neck, tongue and eyelids; disorientation and respiratory distress. It is transmitted by insects called biting midges or “no-see-ums.”

As of Wednesday, 49 deer had been reported dead in Wood County, Barton said. Once EHD has been confirmed in an area, further testing is usually not done and it is assumed that deaths in similar circumstances are also a result of the disease.

“Once we have confirmation within that watershed unit that it is (EHD), then it basically almost becomes kind of a body count,” he said.

The numbers are lower in the surrounding area, with five deaths in Jackson County, three in Pleasants County and three in Ritchie County, where EHD was first confirmed at the end of July. There were also three reported deaths in Wirt County, but Barton did not say EHD had been confirmed there.

Those numbers are more typical of EHD outbreaks than Wood County’s, Barton said.

“Outbreaks are usually pretty localized and not involving a whole lot of deer,” he said. “This one seems to be a little bit more noteworthy than in the past several years.”

There have been less than 65 deer deaths suspected to be linked to EHD reported statewide, Barton said, but the larger number in Wood County is not necessarily a cause for increased concern.

“Wood County is generally one of our more populated counties so you have more people there to notice what’s going on,” Barton said.

Wood County’s confirmation comes after positive tests in Washington and Athens counties in Ohio.

The insects spreading the disease “can be windborne over various distances,” Barton said. “Some of those midges can travel half a mile or more in search of a blood meal.”

A map shared online by the Ohio Division of Wildlife indicated dead or sick deer had been reported in all but two of Washington County’s 22 townships, with numbers ranging from one or two to over 50 in Belpre, Decatur and Wesley townships. Heavy numbers were reported in Athens County as well. The numbers weren’t as high in Morgan and Noble counties, but the highest concentrations were on those counties’ borders with Washington. Monroe County had reports of one or two sick or dead deer in four of its 18 townships.

Barton said the disease can only be spread by midges.

“Deer aren’t spreading it from one deer to another,” he said. “There’s no horizontal transmission. It’s all vector-borne.”

While a midge can pick up the disease by feeding on an infected deer, that cannot happen after the deer dies, Barton said. That’s why the DNR generally will not remove the deer.

“Once that’s a dead deer, that’s a dead end to the virus,” he said. “It becomes just another thing that nature’s janitorial service, scavengers, etc., breaks down and composts naturally.”

People are encouraged to report dead deer to the DNR so it can be determined whether further investigation needs done, Barton said. People can also contact their local DNR office with questions about EHD.

The number for the District 6 office in Parkersburg is 304-420-4550.