10-15 SS Blue tongue in deer

Blue tongue disease has hit deer populations in the West and I talked with veterinarian Dr. Deborah Lawrence about it. "Our deer populations in jeopardy of being wiped out? No. I think, judging from the number of cases that have been reported versus the deer population, no probably not. Deer hunting is going on right now and if a guy gets lucky, gets his deer and the animal is asymptomatic, is there a danger in eating it . I'm not sure although if the meat is cooked it should deactivate the virus. But, if the guy butchers the deer and the insides don't look right, they should probably have somebody look at it before they eat it. What about elk, are they in danger? They could be but they don't run in the same circles as deer. We certainly haven't run into it yet. They are in a different terrain where apparently they are not as apt to be bit by these infected insects.