Blue Tongue bad this year?

[LDennis24]

What does everyone think of the possibility of this year being a bad one for blue tongue? There's a lot if stagnant water all over from this spring still and I'm guessing some of it will harbor disease this summer.

[tracksoup]

Their is a lot of moving water also. I think it will be ok this year with the snow pack we got.

[Mfowl]

I thought blue tongue happened in drought conditions when the little remaining water becomes contaminated. But I'm no expert by any means.

[tracksoup]

 

[LDennis24]

It's anywhere that there's stagnant water for the gnats to lay eggs in. If you have moving water nearby then it won't hurt the deer as they are smart enough to drink cleaner moving water most of the time. But in some areas like Cheney you have ALOT if standing water that becomes algae filled and full of larvae by the end of summer.

[DOUBLELUNG]

The Culicoides gnat that transmits hemorrhagic disease in big game requires warm, fecal-contaminated water for breeding.  Big die-offs occur when deer are concentrated near water by late summer drought, in search of green forage. Spring conditions don't readily indicate how pervasive those conditions will be in August-September, unfortunately, so there is no good way to predict the severity before seasons are set.

[jackelope]

The Culicoides gnat that transmits hemorrhagic disease in big game requires warm, fecal-contaminated water for breeding.  Big die-offs occur when deer are concentrated near water by late summer drought, in search of green forage. Spring conditions don't readily indicate how pervasive those conditions will be in August-September, unfortunately, so there is no good way to predict the severity before seasons are set.

Thanks for sharing your expertise, sir.

[DOUBLELUNG]

The Culicoides gnat that transmits hemorrhagic disease in big game requires warm, fecal-contaminated water for breeding.  Big die-offs occur when deer are concentrated near water by late summer drought, in search of green forage. Spring conditions don't readily indicate how pervasive those conditions will be in August-September, unfortunately, so there is no good way to predict the severity before seasons are set.

Thanks for sharing your expertise, sir.

You're very kind.  I'm not an expert but was fortunate enough to study under one of the top wildlife diseases specialists in the U.S., Dr. Elizabeth Williams at the University of Wyoming, and to work with top notch wildlife vets and pathologists.

[jackelope]

Call it what you want. You're a lot more an expert than most of the rest of us.
 

[elkboy]

Doublelung is right that we can't predict late summer conditions at this point!  However, I am truly hopeful with the abundant snow and rainfall this year, and the generally cooler temperatures, that we can avoid repetition of the 2015 bluetongue outbreak...

[brew]

do blacktails get this disease ?   i saw 2 does last year that had these symptoms...swollen tongue hanging out of their mouths-not just sticking out but hanging down about 4"...both were within a mile of each other so don't know it could have been the same deer but the timeframe was 3 months apart