Chapter 5 Threats
and elk in captivity and monitoring activities that collect samples from harvest and road-kill deer to find evidence of the disease. The NCWRC has a CWD response plan that outlines management actions designed to prevent the spread of CWD in the state and increase the likelihood of detecting the disease where it does occur. Information about the disease in North Carolina and measures for surveillance and testing is provided on the NCWRC’s CWD information web site https://www.ncwildlife.gov/connect/have-wildlife-problem/wildlife- conflicts/common-wildlife-diseases/deer-diseases/chronic-wasting-disease. Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) is a virus that causes fluid in the lungs of White-tailed Deer populations. Dead deer are often found by hunters near sources of water, such as lakes, swamps, and wetlands. These wet areas are breeding areas for the gnats and other small biting insects that are carriers for the virus. Canine Distemper is a disease that occurs in foxes, coyotes, skunks, and raccoons during the spring and fall. Infection typically does not create significant impacts to populations. However, local extinctions can occur when the disease occurs in isolated or remote populations and there is a lack of natural gene flow from other areas. This disease also has a high potential for exposure and spillover to domestic animals, especially unvaccinated dogs that come into contact with infected wildlife. It has been reported that distemper and rabies infections in wildlife can be hard to visually distinguish as early symptoms appear to be similar (salivating, disorientation, lethargy or aggressiveness, aimless wandering) (Stoffregen and Dubey 1991) . Brainworm Disease affects the nervous system of deer and elk (family Cervidae). Anderson (1972) notes White-tailed Deer are the usual host for the parasitic Meningeal Worm ( Paralaphostrongylus tenuis ) and larvae of the parasite that are shed in fecal matter can infest terrestrial mollusks (snails and slugs). Deer and elk can become infected by accidentally ingesting gastropods containing small numbers of infective larvae. Several terrestrial snail species found in hardwood forests have been indicated as a potential vector for Meningeal Worm. In North Carolina, snails in the Anguispira and Discus genus are suspected to be a vector. Little research has been published about transmission and infection of this parasite. 5.13.5 Reptiles – Anticipated Impacts Snake Fungal Disease (SFD) is an emerging disease in certain populations of wild snakes in the eastern and midwestern United States. The NWHC has diagnosed several species with SFD, including species found in North Carolina such as Northern Water Snake, Eastern Racer, Rat Snake, Timber Rattlesnake, Pigmy Rattlesnake, and Milk Snake. According to the NWHC, population-level impacts of the disease are not yet widely known and are difficult to assess due to the cryptic and solitary nature of snakes, and a general lack of long-term monitoring data.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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