Provincial veterinarians are asking the public to keep an eye out for local deer experiencing symptoms of Adenovirus Hemorrhagic Disease (AHD), a viral disease recently discovered for the first time in Coastal B.C. (B.C. Government)

By Jordan Davidson

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NANAIMO — Provincial veterinarians are asking the public to keep a lookout for a nasty viral disease affecting deer in the region.

Adenovirus hemorrhagic disease (AHD), is a rapidly fatal viral disease which attacks small blood vessels in the body. It was first reported in the United States decades ago but wasn’t found in B.C. until 2020.

Nanaimo-based wildlife veterinarian with the ministry of water, land, and stewardship Caeley Thacker said since then, they have found cases all over B.C.’s coastal islands.

“The first detections were on the Gulf Islands: Mayne, Pender, Salt Spring, and then it seemed to jump to Vancouver Island, the Cowichan Valley, moved south to Esquimalt, as far as Metchosin and Sooke. It has also spread north up the island as far as Merville.”

Some suspected cases have been discovered in and around Campbell River and Port Alberni as well.

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She said AHD is a deer, or cervid, family-specific viral disease which is passed from animal to animal through contact with fluids such as saliva and waste.

Affected animals include mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, moose and potentially caribou.

Symptoms include difficulty breathing, coughing, a change in behaviours such as less aversion to humans, and most notably, pink foam coming from their mouth or nose, and blood coming from its hind end.

Thacker told NanaimoNewsNOW it’s hard to determine exactly how many deer may be infected locally.

“Wildlife die unnoticed all the time, so there may have been more but that’s the only one (elk) that has tested positive. I have sampled and tested more elk than that, but they did not come back as positive. It doesn’t appear to affect fallow deer, we haven’t had any cases and from reports from other places.”

She said the one confirmed case of AHD discovered in an elk was in the Youbou area.

While she couldn’t comment on how AHD is affecting the overall deer population across all of coastal B.C., deaths from AHD are starting to be notable.

“We know from AHD or suspect from AHD that there have been localized declines in some deer populations. Those seem to be centred around Cobble Hill, Metchosin, and some of the Gulf Islands, with possibly smaller declines around Ladysmith and Nanaimo Lakes area.”

Thacker said the province is also dealing with its first discovered case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in B.C. deer, reported earlier this month in the Kootenay region.

She said while CWD is always on their radar, their main concern right now is trying to prevent the spreading of AHD across B.C.’s coast, which could impact the local deer populations.

“This is where we ask the public to participate by either reporting symptomatic animals or if they are hunting and collecting road kill for bait, that they participate in…wildlife health surveillance.”

More information on AHD and the province’s wildlife health can be found here at the provincial government’s website.

If you see an animal with suspected signs of AHD, you’re asked to contact Thacker directly at 250-751-3234, or email at caeley.thacker@gov.bc.ca, or the Wildlife Health Laboratory at 250-751-7246.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow