Hemorrhagic Disease: What AZGFD Is Doing

Frankly, there isn’t much that we can do about HD. Because HD can crop up seasonally and in different areas of the state depending on insect populations, precipitation and available drinking water, it can be nearly impossible to stop the spread of the disease. We do respond to several calls each year regarding dead animals that we suspect have died of HD, either EHD or BTV. However, because of the intense heat here in Arizona, we are often unable to collect viable organ tissue samples to submit for testing.

Due to lack of high mortality events, Arizona Game and Fish is not currently managing EHD or BTV in our wild ruminant populations. However, wild ruminants are vaccinated during translocations, captures and/or when opportunities arise. When collected, blood samples are screened to monitor for evidence of disease.