What is adenovirus hemorrhagic disease (AHD)?
Adenoviruses belong to a small group of viruses that can infect a wide variety of animals, both wild and domestic. The AHD virus of deer was first identified in California in1994. What are the clinical signs of AHD in deer? Infected deer can have clinical signs common to other diseases such as bluetongue or pneumonia. Chronic symptoms include ulcers and abscesses in the mouth and throat. Acute symptoms include rapid or open mouth breathing, foaming or drooling at the mouth, diarrhea (possibly bloody), weakness, and copius amounts of fluid in the body cavity. Death can occur within 3 — 5 days from the time the deer was exposed to the virus. What is known of the disease in Oregon? In 2001, the Oregon State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory confirmed the presence of AHD in one adult black-tailed deer doe from southwest Oregon. Biologists suspect that the deaths of several dozen other deer from the same area also may have been caused by AHD. In 2002, ODFW and the Oregon State Uni
