OHIO – A video taken by Jeff Rich shows how benign a common skin virus is to deer.
Fibromatosis in Deer are large, warty growths, or fibromas appear as firm, round, nodular, hairless, pigmented skin abnormalities adhered to or incorporated within the skin of deer. The masses occur most frequently around the eyes, mouth, face, neck, and forelimbs, and may appear as a single mass or numerous growths. The tumors are typically small (less than 5 inches across), dark brown or black in color, and their surface may be abraded or bleeding and in some case infected. Most often, fibromas occur in deer less than 2 years of age, with a higher incidence of disease in bucks.
As you can see in the video the deer doesn’t seem to be affected by the growths and is acting perfectly normal. According to State officials,”deer with fibromatosis are generally unaffected by the condition, unless the location or size of the tumor impedes normal movement, feeding, or vision. The tumors may be surgically removed, although treatment is not typically practical, and is usually unnecessary, as the disease is self-limiting and fibromas tend to regress over time.”
The virus cannot spread to humans, in fact the virus is only skin deep so if a hunter shot a deer with these issues, that animal would still be safe to eat as none of the skin and not underlying muscles or other structures are infected.
