MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin is experiencing its largest recorded outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, with more than 2,300 reports of deer suspected of dying from the insect-borne virus in southeastern Wisconsin. The outbreak is concentrated east of New Glarus, but the disease has appeared in neighboring counties during earlier years.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has confirmed the disease in wild deer in Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, Washington and Waukesha counties. Suspected cases have also been reported in Dodge, Jefferson, Milwaukee and Ozaukee counties. No confirmed or suspected cases were listed for Green County in the DNR’s published outbreak information.

Washington County has accounted for more than 1,300 reports, followed by more than 600 in Waukesha County. The DNR’s Oct. 12 breakdown also listed approximately 150 in Dodge County, 140 in Ozaukee, 50 in Jefferson, 35 in Milwaukee and 20 in Sheboygan, with fewer than 10 in Fond du Lac County. An Oct. 20 report by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel put the statewide total at at least 2,305.

Those numbers represent sightings reported by residents and wildlife biologists of sick or recently dead deer with signs consistent with the disease. They are not a count of laboratory-confirmed infections or a complete estimate of mortality. The actual number of deer that have died could be substantially higher.