Wildlife Disease News Digest

May 19, 2008

TOP STORIES

Wildlife populations 'plummeting'
BBC News – news.bbc.co.uk
16 May 2008

Between a quarter and a third of the world's wildlife has been lost since 1970, according to data compiled by the Zoological Society of London.

Populations of land-based species fell by 25%, marine by 28% and freshwater by 29%, it says.

. . . Colin Butfield, head of campaigns at WWF UK, said: "Biodiversity underpins the health of the planet and has a direct impact on all our lives, so it is alarming that despite an increased awareness of environmental issues we continue to see a downward trend."

The charity also warned that a failure to stop biodiversity loss would have a direct impact on humans.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

First-ever case of Chronic Wasting Disease in wild elk found in Saskatchewan
Vancouver Sun – www.canada.com/vancouversun/news
D Bernhardt
15 May 2008
Location: near Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Canada – Map It

The first-ever cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in wild elk have been discovered in Saskatchewan, but the provincial government hasn't been very public about it.

The animals were found dead west of Nipawin in early April, close to Fort a la Corne in the province's east-central region. An "announcement" was posted May 6 on the Ministry of Environment website but not on the government's main page or distributed as a news release.

"We want to understand the significance of it before we take any radical action," said Rick Ashton, director of resource allocation at the fish and wildlife branch of the ministry. "They were found in an area highly infected with CWD in white-tailed deer. It's just another species. It's not a significant event at this point."

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Study; Great Lakes gulls in poor health
United Press International - www.upi.com
15 May 2008
Location: Great Lakes

It might be assumed stocking the Great Lakes with exotic salmon and trout might be good for gulls but a Canadian study puts that assumption in doubt.

Craig Hebert and colleagues at the Canadian Wildlife Research Center in Ottawa analyzed 25 years of data on the gulls and discovered the Great Lakes birds are in poor health in many areas.

The scientists said fish are the gulls' staple diet, so it would be natural to assume more fish would mean better dining. Instead, the researchers said the addition of species such as exotic salmon hasn't been good for the birds. Tests of their tissues showed an increased in transfats associated with food produced by humans, suggesting the birds have been forced to make a shift from fish to terrestrial food, including garbage, Hebert said.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Columnaris most likely cause for dying fish in lake
Daily Globe - www.dglobe.com
16 May 2008
S Rall
Location: Minnesota, USA – Map It

(Mille Lacs – Sunset Bay) and Map It

(Nobles – Okabena Lake)

The phone has been ringing off the wall this week with many concerned property owners and fisherman asking if I knew any thing about all the crappies dying in Lake Okabena and Sunset Bay. These dead fish started to show up in substantial numbers a few days ago and were washing up on shore. . . .

. . . The fish were collected and shipped to the DNR lab in St. Paul and the official results should be available in a few days. There are many possible sources for the die off but the most likely is a fish disease call Columnaris. This is a bacterium that enters the fish through their gills or any damaged areas on the fish’s skin. . .

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Sea lions likely died from the heat
Associated Press – www.ap.com
15 May 2008
Location: Oregon, USA - Map It

The deaths of six sea lions found in traps on the Columbia River earlier this month were likely caused by the heat, and not by gunshots as officials first suspected, the National Marine Fisheries Service said. . . .

Federal and state officials initially said the sea lions had been shot, but they did an about-face after necropsies by state and federal experts found no evidence of bullet wounds.

The fisheries service said Wednesday the results of necropsies on all six animals were consistent with death from heat stroke. Studies of tissue samples taken after the May 4 deaths are expected in about 10 days and might reveal more.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

May Science Picks—Leads, Feeds, and Story Seeds
USGS Newsroom – www.usgs.gov
12 May 2008

Otter Spotters - Since 1982, standardized surveys from land and aircraft, along with other studies, have helped scientists assess changes in this threatened sea otter population, so federal and state wildlife agencies can make informed decisions about its management. Survey results are available

Where's Walrus? Find Out Online [Includes dynamic map] - USGS scientists recently attached satellite radio tags to adult walruses to map foraging locations around the St. Lawrence Island polynya in the Northern Bering Sea. Movements of instrumented walrus can be viewed.

Tick Tick Ticks: Warm Weather is Tick Time - USGS scientist Howard Ginsberg studies how Lyme disease is transmitted in nature by studying ticks and their vertebrate hosts, such as white-footed mice, birds and voles, a small rodent.

Mussels on the Move: Google Mapping Invasive Species - Now, resource managers and the public can see just where the quagga mussels are on a Google map updated daily.

Avoiding the Buzz: West Nile Fever - The USGS, in collaboration with state and federal agencies, is keeping an eye on the virus by testing dead birds and mapping findings and is investigating which bird species are the primary reservoirs for this virus.

Mercury Risks to Fish-Eating Birds in San Francisco Bay - USGS and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientists estimate13 percent of the waterbirds in San Francisco Bay are at high risk for harmful effects due to mercury concentrations in blood and 22 percent at high risk from blood in feathers.

Getting Better Grizzly Bear Numbers - USGS scientist Katherine Kendall and colleagues recently developed a way to more precisely estimate grizzly bear populations.

Intertwined Lives of Red Knots and Horseshoe Crabs - Populations of red knots-small, colorful shorebirds-have declined in recent years due to declines in horseshoe crabs, whose eggs provide nourishment for red knots.

The Shorebird Walk - A walk on the beach can result in unusual discoveries. Trained observers, including USGS scientists, are taking many long, systematic beach walks from April through June looking for the elusive snowy plover shorebird.

>>> View all Science Picks in their entirety

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH NEWS

May 16, 2008

TOP STORIES

Mysterious Ailment Could Wipe Out U.S. Northeast Bats
National Geographic News - news.nationalgeographic.com
14 May 2008
B Handwerk
Area: United States

This summer scientists hope to finally crack the case of the mysterious ailment afflicting bats in the U.S. Northeast—before time runs out for the animals and the local environment. The emergence of pregnant females from their wintering grounds should provide vital clues to the extent and transmission mode of the affliction, known as white-nose syndrome. First identified in February 2007 among hibernating bats in caves outside of Albany, New York, the ailment has became especially troubling this year, with signs of the illness spotted at more than two dozen caves and mines used by hibernating bats around New England and New York. Mortality rates in affected hibernation sites can be as high as 80 to 100 percent, and tens of thousands of bats have been found dead.

Because a single bat may typically eat some 3,000 insects a night, experts say, the consequences could be dire for entire ecosystems. (Related: "Early Bats Flew First, Developed 'Sonar' Later [February 13, 2008].) "What we saw last year was kind of just one cave affected, and this year we have seen many hibernation sites in multiple states," said wildlife disease specialist Kimberli Miller at the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin. "It's hard to predict whether next year it will be in even more locations or whether it won't," she added. "It is definitely a big concern."

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>>White-nose disease still a bat mystery

Monarch butterflies help explain why parasites harm hosts
Biology News Net - www.biologynews.net
14 May 2008

It’s a paradox that has confounded evolutionary biologists since Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859: Since parasites depend on their hosts for survival, why do they harm them? A new University of Georgia and Emory University study of monarch butterflies and the microscopic parasites that hitch a ride on them finds that the parasites strike a middle ground between the benefits gained by reproducing rapidly and the costs to their hosts. The study, published in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides the first empirical evidence in a natural system of what’s called the “trade-off hypothesis.”

“Parasites have to harm their host to replicate and be transmitted,” said lead author Jacobus de Roode, a former post-doctoral researcher at UGA and now an assistant professor at Emory University. “But what this study found is that if they harm their host too much, they’ll suffer too. On the other hand, this study also shows that it does not benefit the parasite to be maximally benign, because those parasites don’t replicate enough to be effectively transmitted.” In a painstaking, three-year study conducted in the laboratory of Sonia Altizer, assistant professor in the UGA Odum School of Ecology, researchers infected monarch caterpillars with varying levels of spores from a protozoan parasite commonly found in wild populations.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Alberta to allow hunters to kill Hay-Zama bison
Vancouver Sun - www.canada.com/vancouversun
14 May 2008
H Brooymans
Area: Alberta Canada

The provincial government will allow hunting of an endangered wood bison herd in northwest Alberta beginning in September. The decision is motivated by two things: an increased risk of people hitting bison on roads, and a greater chance of the bison coming into contact with diseased bison emerging from Wood Buffalo National Park. A small herd of 24 wood bison were first moved from Elk Island National Park to Hay-Zama Lakes Wildland Park in 1984. That population has now increased to about 700, with more to arrive soon when the calves are born, said Lyle Fullerton, special projects co-ordinator with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.

. . . The other major concern is the fear that the so far "clean" bison from Hay-Zama will come into contact with bison from Wood Buffalo that carry brucellosis or tuberculosis. Two small diseased herds have already become established west of Wood Buffalo. The provincial government would prefer to see the disease risk in Wood Buffalo eliminated, said George Hamilton, a priority species manager with the ministry. This would involve removing bison from the park, killing the diseased animals and carefully monitoring calves as they are born until eventually a disease-free herd can be re-established in the park. But that is up to the federal government.

>>>FULL ARTICLE -- Map It

Hunters may face lead-free future
Sportsday - www.dallasnews.com
14 May 2008
R Sasser
Area: Idaho United States

A conference in Idaho this week could have a significant ripple effect on hunting. The conference title is "Ingestion of Spent Lead Ammunition: Implications for Wildlife and Humans." Presentations will link lead poisoning to endangered California condors, eagles and other birds of prey and scavengers. In a news release, Rick Watson, vice president of the Peregrine Fund, said there's significant evidence that condors are sickened and that some of the birds die from eating the remains of shot animals. Watson also suggested the possibility that other species, including humans, are at risk.

. . . For several years, the F&WS has been looking at lead ingestion in mourning doves, but the federal agency has told state wildlife officials that they consider it a state issue. Only one state, South Dakota, has banned all lead pellets used for hunting any game bird on public hunting areas. Who knows what the F&WS will do under the next administration? There are alternate, nontoxic materials from which rifle bullets and shotgun pellets can be made. A ban on all lead bullets and shotgun pellets would not stop hunting, but it would make the ammunition much more expensive.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Conference Link
>>>Ingestion of Spent Lead Ammunition: Implications for Wildlife and Humans

Rabid Fox in North Georgia
News Channel 9 - www.newschannel9.com
14 May 2008
R Simms
Area: Georgia United States

A fox that fought with a dog last week on Colwell Road in Fannin County, Ga. has now been confirmed as positive for rabies, according to county environmental health officials. The dog's owner shot the fox four times, once in the head, last Wednesday, May 7 as it fought with his dog. The owner then reported the incident the next day to county environmental health officials and took the fox to the Ocoee Animal Clinic so that the head could be removed for rabies testing. There had been some concern that the shot to the head might have impeded testing, however, it was ultimately determined that the damage was minimal enough for testing to be effective.

>>>FULL ARTICLE -- Map It

>>>Rabid fox bites Spotsy woman -- Map It

>>>Rabies Alert In SW Miami Dade After Bat Attack-- Map It

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of BBC News

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Using stable isotopes to unravel and predict the origins of great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) overwintering at Kinmen
Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. 2008;22(8):1235-44 [online abstract only]
YM Chang et al.

Maturation of West Nile Virus Modulates Sensitivity to Antibody-Mediated Neutralization
PLoS Pathogens. 2008 May 9;4(5):e1000060 [free full-text available]
S Nelson et al.

May 15, 2008

TOP STORIES

Dead bats tested here for mysterious syndrome
Capital Times – www.madison.com
13 May 2008
A Weier

About 100 bats that died of a mysterious syndrome in the northeastern United States are being analyzed at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center in Madison.
The illness, which has resulted in the deaths of thousands of bats found since March at more than 25 caves and mines, is referred to as "white-nose syndrome" because of a white substance on the muzzles and wings of dead and hibernating bats.

. . . "When we receive the carcasses, we examine them for signs of trauma before we look inside, to see whether a predator attacked or they might have been electrocuted. In the case of these bats, there was none of that," said Anne Ballmann, a wildlife disease specialist with the National Wildlife Health Center.

. . . After that analysis, the bats are opened up and tissue samples obtained for virus and bacteria screening, and any fungus on the surface of the bats is analyzed.

"There is also some hypothesis that this may be toxic-related, so we are checking for pesticide residues," she said.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

May 14, 2008

TOP STORIES

Feces May Transmit Fatal Cheetah Disease
Scientific American - www.sciam.com
12 May 2008
JR Minkel
Photo courtesy of Yumi Une / National Academy of Sciences, PNAS

A fatal, Alzheimer's-like disease that attacks cheetahs' internal organs and has impeded breeding of the cats in captivity may be spread by their feces. Researchers from Japan and China report in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA that the disease, AA amyloidosis, was transmitted to mice exposed to fecal proteins from a cheetah that died of it. The cheetah is classified as an endangered species. Only 12,000 to 15,000 are believed to remain in about 25 countries, down from 100,000 in 44 countries in 1900, according to the Cheetah Conservation Fund.

Breeders would like to have a self-sustaining population of cheetahs in captivity, but in North America only 20 percent of captive cheetahs reproduce, and only 75 to 80 percent of cubs survive to reproductive age, says Adrienne Crosier, a reproductive biologist at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Thanks to inbreeding, cheetahs have greater susceptibility to diseases such as AA amyloidosis, which is among a group of disorders characterized by the accumulation tangles of misfolded protein called amyloid fibrils. Other diseases in the group include Alzheimer's and type 2 diabetes in humans as well as the prion (infectious protein) diseases such as scrapie in sheep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (aka mad cow disease) and chronic wasting disease in deer and elk. In cheetahs amyloid fibrils build up in the spleen and liver, typically following an inflammatory stomach disease.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article
>>>Fecal transmission of AA amyloidosis in the cheetah contributes to high incidence of disease - Prc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 2008 May 12; [Epub ahead of print]

Uganda: Scientists Screen Reptiles to Trace Sleeping Sickness
allAfrica.com
05 May 2008
K Ngatya
Area: Uganda

Scientists have started screening crocodiles, monitor-lizards, snakes and other reptiles to establish whether they are reservoirs for sleeping sickness and nagana disease parasites countrywide. This follows a new study which found that domestic animals are reservoirs for sleeping sickness. The veterinary doctors have made recommendations based on this study to the Government to vaccinate all goats, pigs, cattle and sheep. sleeping sickness affects people, while nagana affects animals. The reptile screening is on realisation that the animals harbour sleeping sickness parasites even though they do not get sick themselves.

However, the disease is picked by tseflies bites and passed on to people. Dr Loyce Okidi, the head of Sleeping Sickness Research Programme at the National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NaLIRRI) said their preliminary observations indicate that the reptiles offer blood meals to tsetse flies in the wild. The diseases are transmitted by the flies when they suck blood from an infected host. "Although no study has established that these parasites can thrive comfortably inside the reptiles, we are treating them suspiciously," she noted.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

'Ark' designed to rescue imperiled amphibians
Contra Costa Times - www.contracostatimes.com (Source: Washington Post)
12 May 2008
J Eilperin
Photo courtesy of J Maher/Wildlife Conservation Society

The 300 Kihansi spray toads residing in a small room at the Bronx Zoo chirp cheerily as they bask in a light sprinkling of water 14 times a day. Until a few years ago, the tiny, mustard-colored toads existed only in a river gorge in Tanzania. Now the survivors are confined to the Bronx and Toledo zoos, having gone extinct in the wild. With thousands of amphibian species facing unprecedented threats to their survival, scientists have launched a global effort to collect them in zoos to save them from disappearing altogether. Named Amphibian Ark, the program aims to keep 500 species in captivity and breed enough to eventually reintroduce them into the wild.

. . . Perhaps more important, however, may be a chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which researchers say has caused amphibian populations to plummet in North and South America, Europe, Africa and Australia. Researchers at the National Zoo first described the fungus in 1999. It attacks keratin proteins in the skin, and because amphibians breathe through their skin, this creates respiratory problems. While scientists are still debating the connection between chytrid fungus and global warming — some believe they are inextricably linked, while others dispute this — experts agree that the disease helps explain why amphibians are in such dire condition. The Bronx Zoo's Kihansi spray toads fell prey to several pressures, including habitat destruction and, most likely, the fungus and pesticides.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Winter feeding on elk refuge exceeds historical average
Billings Gazette - www.billingsgazette.net (Source: Associated Press)
12 May 2008
Area: Wyoming United States

The National Elk Refuge near Jackson provided supplemental feeding for elk and bison for nearly a month longer than average this year as the animals sought sustenance during the long, harsh winter, refuge officials said. The refuge put out more than 8.4 million pounds of alfalfa pellets over 98 days ending April 20. Only once in the past 27 years did feeding continue past that date, according to the refuge. "There's so much snow in the mountains, the elk didn't really have anywhere else to go," refuge manager Steve Kallin said. The feeding season also was extended up to several weeks at most of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's 22 elk feedgrounds, said Brandon Scurlock of the department's Pinedale office.

. . . But with the congregation of thousands of animals from the Yellowstone area on the refuge's feeding grounds, there's a serious risk of a disease outbreak, refuge officials and local conservation groups said. There were about 8,000 elk and 900 bison on the refuge this winter, according to the refuge. That's considerably higher than the target numbers - 5,000 elk and 500 bison - contained in a management plan for the refuge and Teton National Park. "Concentrating this many animals for this length of time is certainly placing the elk at risk of a major disease outbreak," Kallin said. "We can't expect to be this lucky every year, especially at these high population numbers." The concentration of animals in a small feeding area can result in elk spreading diseases such as brucellosis and foot rot. About 90 elk have shown symptoms of foot rot, the refuge said.

>>>FULL ARTICLE -- Map It

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of David Cruz Photography

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS

West Nile Virus Antibodies in Permanent Resident and Overwintering Migrant Birds in South-central Kansas
Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. 2008 [ahead of print][online abstract only]
TR Shelite et al.

Oropsylla hirsuta (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae) Can Support Plague Epizootics in Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) by Early-Phase Transmission of Yersinia pestis
Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. 2008 [ahead of print][online abstract only].
AP Wilder et al.

From “Us vs. Them” to “Shared Risk”: Can Animals Help Link Environmental Factors to Human Health?
EcoHealth. 2008 [Epub ahead of print][online abstract only]
PM Rabinowitz et al.

May 13, 2008

TOP STORIES

Mercury in lake affecting animals
Deseret News - deseretnews.com
10 May 2008
S Speckman
Photo courtesy of National Wildlife Federation
Area: Utah United States

Scientists have learned more about elevated mercury concentrations in Great Salt Lake, and a new report by the U.S. Geological Survey shows that brine shrimp and, in particular, the eared grebes that eat them are being impacted. Exactly how much lasting damage is being done by mercury contamination will be the subject of another report due out in about nine months that will be coauthored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The new USGS report title is long: "Anthropogenic influences of the input of biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and mercury in Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA." It's published in this month's international journal "Applied Geochemistry."

The report's findings indicate that new pathways, such as sustained high winds, are in effect treating the lake like a mixing bowl, melding mercury present in the water with brine shrimp, where the mercury "bioaccumulates." Many bird species eat the shrimp, but USGS singles out grebes. The grebes molt for about three to five months around fall and don't fly as a result. While on the lake shores, they dine on the contaminated shrimp. Studies of the birds during that period have revealed an increase of mercury in their livers three times the amount found at other times of the year. "We found that the composition of isotopes found in brine shrimp change in a consistent manner over the growing season, likely reflecting a change in the type of algae that brine shrimp were eating," said Dave Naftz, the main author of the USGS report.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article
>>>Anthropogenic influences of the input of biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and mercury in Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA - Applied Geochemistry. 2008 Mar 18; [Epub ahead of print]

Investigation continues into cause of bats’ deaths
Daily Gazette - www.dailygazette.com
10 May 2008
E Munger Jr.
Area: United States

Scientists by the dozen continue to study different factors that could be causing the death of thousands of bats. The use of pesticides, the impact of climate change and unknown pathogens are all possibilities, but nothing has been ruled out, said David Blehert, head of diagnostic microbiology at the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center in Wisconsin. Following two massive die-offs discovered in Albany County caves after the winters of 2006 and 2007, wildlife officials began studying a white fungus substance on specimens both living and dead. Dubbed “white-nose syndrome,” because of the fungus, the affliction is considered an important issue both for the bats’ sake and for the role they play in the environment, Blehert said.

“It’s just unusual. That’s our job, to try to investigate causes of unusual wildlife activity,” Blehert said. “You’re not supposed to find thousands of dead bats, or, in caves that used to have 100,000 bats, find none at all.” Blehert said scientists are isolating fungi and bacterium in bat tissue samples and large numbers of those tests might lead to a clue. A sufficient number of tests, once results are complete, will be put on a spreadsheet and studied, he said.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related Stories
>>>New illness killing off endangered Indiana bat
>>>What's Killing Off the Bats?

Officials fearful of deadly fish virus
The Post-Crescent - www.postcrescent.com
11 May 2008
B Jones
Photo courtesy of M.P. King
Area: Wisconsin United States

One year has passed since an Ebola-like fish virus known as VHS was discovered in this watershed. Officials then called it a "major fish health crisis." Today, this popular Calumet County harbor doesn't look like the scene of a crisis. The harbor's landing is enjoying regular traffic from fishermen, who are happily catching fish. The disease is not dangerous to humans. "My wife says (I fish) too often, but I don't think it's often enough," Rich Rieth of Chilton said recently as he cast for crappies.

While the viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus hasn't caused many visible changes on Lake Winnebago, officials warn the full effect on fish populations might not be known for years. In the meantime, officials are working to get fishermen and boaters to follow new rules aimed at halting the spread of a disease they can't see. "We are between a rock and a hard place, a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation," said Mike Staggs, fisheries director for the state Department of Natural Resources. "If VHS turns out to not be as problematic as scientists and others say, we will be criticized for going to far, creating too many problems.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related Stories
>>>Fish Kills Still A Mystery -- Map It

Japan finds another case of bird flu in dead swan
Reuters India - in.reuters.com
10 May 2008
Area: Hokkaido Japan

Japan has found the H5N1 strain of bird flu in another swan in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, the prefectural government of Hokkaido said on its website on Saturday. The case was confirmed from a dead swan found five days ago near Lake Saroma in eastern Hokkaido. On the same day, local authorities had said the same strain of bird flu was found in another swan found dead on April 24 in another area of the island.

>>>FULL ARTICLE -- Map It

Related Stories
>>>Risk of Pandemic Flu Still Acute

Chronic wasting disease surfaces in Hampshire
Cumberland Times-News - www.times-news.com
09 May 2008
Area: West Virginia United States

Test results have detected the chronic wasting disease agent in 11 white-tailed deer collected this spring in Hampshire County, according to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. All the deer that tested positive for CWD were collected by Wildlife Resources Section personnel working in the Slanesville/Augusta area. No new positive samples were detected in the Yellow Springs area.

These collections have been designed to investigate and determine the prevalence and distribution of the disease in Hampshire County. Wildlife biologists are carefully monitoring changes in the structure of the deer herd within the CWD containment area. The first case of CWD in West Virginia was confirmed Sept. 2, 2005. Since that time, DNR has been implementing its CWD Incident Response Plan, which is designed to accomplish the following objectives.

>>>FULL ARTICLE -- Map It

Website Tracks Animal-Based Diseases
Wisconsin Public Radio - wpr.org
12 May 2008
C Quirmbach

There’s a new online map for tracking wildlife diseases that threaten animals and people.

Diseases such as West Nile virus, chronic wasting disease, avian flu and others are now often in the news. A website developed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the U.S. Geological Survey aims to track reports of the disease outbreaks around the world.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Monitoring of influenza viruses in waterfowl and terrestrial birds in eastern slovakia
Acta virologica.2008;52(1):71-3 [no online abstract available]
A Mizakova et al.

Parasites in food webs: the ultimate missing links
Ecology Letters. 2008 Jun;11(6):533-46 [online abstract only]
KD Lafferty et al.

H2N5 influenza virus isolates from terns in Australia: genetic reassortants between those of the Eurasian and American lineages
Virus Genes 2008 May 3 [Epub ahead of print][online abstract only]
N Kishida et al.

May 12, 2008

TOP STORIES

New fish virus partly responsible for last summer's carp die-off, MNR says
The Petersborough Examiner - www.thepetersboroughexaminer.com
9 May 2008
J Neeley

Area: Ontario, Canada - Map It

A fish virus new to Ontario has been identified as one cause of the carp die-off that littered area lakes with 12,000 to 24,000 fish last summer. John Cooper, Lake Erie management unit for the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), said extensive testing by the University of Guelph and the federal fish health labs confirmed finding a new fish virus to Ontario — the Koi herpesvirus. The MNR previously identified a bacteria, columnaris, as the cause of the fish kill, but now say the new virus also killed fish.

The Koi herpesvirus, first found in North America in 1999, was discovered in two fish collected from the Scugog and Pigeon lakes last year, Cooper said. It only affects carp, goldfish and koi, he said, and is not a danger to humans, "because it can't live in a body as warm as a human." Carp infected with Koi Herpesvirus are safe to eat and handle, he said. Last year's die-off also will not threaten carp counts for this season, Cooper said.

>>>FULL ARTI CLE

Related News
>>>Hotline and more: MNR is ready if fish start to die

Dying Bats in the Northeast Remain a Mystery
U.S. Geological Survey Newsroom - www.usgs.gov/newsroom
9 May 2008

Investigations continue into the cause of a mysterious illness that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of bats since March 2008. At more than 25 caves and mines in the northeastern U.S, bats exhibiting a condition now referred to as "white-nosed syndrome" have been dying. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently issued a Wildlife Health Bulletin, advising wildlife and conservation officials throughout the U.S. to be on the lookout for the condition known as "white-nose syndrome" and to report suspected cases of the disease.

USGS wildlife disease specialist Dr. Kimberli Miller advises that "anyone finding sick or dead bats should avoid handling them and should contact their state wildlife conservation agency or the nearest U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service field office to report their observation." Large-scale wildlife mortality events should be reported to the USGS at http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/mortality_events/reporting.jsp.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related Links
>>>National Wildlife Health Center Health Bulletin - White-Nose Syndrome in Bats in the Northeastern U.S.
>>>FWS FAQ about White-nose Syndrome [pdf]
>>>Map of White-nose Syndrome Occurance by County [Map]
>>>FWS Susi von Oettingen talks white-nose syndrome in bats [Video]

Bovine Tuberculosis Confirmed in Manitoba
Canada News Centre - news.gc.ca
8 May 2008

Area - Manitoba, Canada - Map It

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) has been confirmed in a five-year-old beef cow from a herd in Manitoba. The herd is located within 10 km of Riding Mountain National Park, in a portion of the Riding Mountain Eradication Area (RMEA) that is considered to be at highest risk for bovine TB. The herd was tested in March 2008 under the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) enhanced surveillance program and the test result for this cow was considered to be suspicious.

The animal was ordered destroyed and tissue samples were submitted to the CFIA laboratory in Ottawa for further testing. Bovine TB was confirmed on May 1. No part of the infected cow entered the human or animal food chain. There is no public health risk associated with this case. This finding does not affect Manitoba’s status as bovine TB-free under the Health of Animals Regulations. As well, Canada’s status for international trade of animals and animal products is not affected by this finding.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Bug threatens Hell's Canyon bighorn herds
Wallowa County Chieftain - www.wallowacountychieftain.info
8 May 207
K Ellyn
Photo Courtesy of Wallowa County Chieftain

Area: Hell's Canyon, Oregon, USA - Map It

Five of seven bighorn sheep in the Lostine herd tested positive for a deadly, pneumonia-causing bacteria last year, resulting in a wholesale capture of the herd and a course of antibiotics for all 33 sheep. So far, so good, said Vic Coggins, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife district wildlife biologist and author of the bighorn program. "We are seeing less coughing and nasal discharge in bighorns treated with the antibiotic," said Coggins.

"We are hopeful that the drugs will reduce bacterial levels in adults and result in improved lamb survival next year." Even a half-dozen of lambs would be "improved lamb survival," since the Lostine herd lost most of its lambs to disease in 2007. The Hell's Canyon Initiative group, of which ODFW is just one member, had hoped to have 2,000 bighorns in the wilderness area by 2007. However, contact with domestic flocks of sheep and goats and the transmission of disease has continued to plague the program and currently there are about 900 sheep in 17 herds in the Hells Canyon area.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Remotely-Sensed Vegetation Indices Identify Mosquito Clusters of West Nile
Virus Vectors in an Urban Landscape in the Northeastern United States
Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. 2008 Apr 01; 8(2): 197-206.
H Brown et al.

Development of Methods for Detection and Quantification of Avian Influenza
and Newcastle Disease Viruses in Compost by Real-Time Reverse Transcription
Polymerase Chain Reaction and Virus Isolation
Poultry Science. 2008. 87:838-843 [online abstract only]
J Guan et al.

May 9, 2008

TOP STORIES

Saving Frogs Before It's Too Late
ScienceDaily - www.sciencedaily.com (Source: PLoS Biology)
06 May 2008
Area: Madagascar

With nearly one-third of amphibian species threatened with extinction worldwide, fueled in part by the widespread emergence of the deadly chytrid fungus, effective conservation efforts could not be more urgent. In a new article, Franco Andreone and his colleagues argue that one of the best places to focus these efforts is Madagascar, a global hotspot of amphibian diversity that shows no signs of amphibian declines--or traces of the chytrid fungus. Protecting this amphibian treasure trove before it's too late, the authors argue, makes Madagascar a top priority for amphibian conservation efforts. "In Madagascar," the authors argue, "amphibian conservation efforts have the possibility of being pro-active, rather than reactive, or simply post-mortem."

Madagascar harbors "one of the richest groups of amphibian fauna in the world," write the authors, but this megadiversity faces significant threats. Ninety percent of the island's original vegetation has been destroyed by human activity. Amazingly, despite the ongoing habitat destruction, no Malagasy amphibian species have been reported as extinct, though a quarter of the 220 species evaluated by the World Conservation Union are listed as threatened. The conspicuous absence of the devastating chytrid fungus only serves to underscore the precariousness of the situation.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

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>>>Priority Regions For Threatened Frog And Toad Conservation In Latin America
>>>Disappearing Frogs

>>>Web Extra: Interview with Professor Tyrone Hayes [Research into the effects of the pesticide Atrazine on frogs]

Richmond Chemical Spill Taking Toll On Area Fauna
KTVU News - www.ktvu.com
06 May 2008
Area: California United States -- Map It

Two mallard ducks and hundreds of small fish were found dead Tuesday afternoon in an irrigation ditch near the site of a toxic chemical spill in Richmond's Parchester Village, the California Department of Fish and Game reported. The spill, now estimated to be about 3,300 gallons of the chemical solvent toluene, occurred sometime between Friday night and Monday morning when a thief cut through a fence surrounding Reaction Products Co., Inc., located at 840 Morton Ave., and stole brass fittings from five above-ground chemical storage tanks. The fittings would bring about $10 at a recycling plant, but the cleanup of the chemical released by the theft is estimated to cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan said.

Cleanup crews recovered about 3,000 gallons of toluene and water mixture Monday, and had recovered another 1,300 gallons of the water and chemical mixture from the irrigation ditch and surrounding area as of 3:00 p.m. today, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. Officials had not yet been able to determine how much toluene was contained in the mixture. They also still don't know how much of the chemical seeped into Parchester Marsh, which is part of Point Pinole Regional Shoreline and home to several endangered species, or how much washed into San Pablo Bay.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Thai officials working to prevent birdflu outbreak
MCOT English News - enews.mcot.net
08 May 2008
Area: Thailand

Bueng Boraped in the central province of Nakhon Sawan, encompassing over 50,000 acres is home to more than 270 farmland birds and waterbirds. The Bueng Boraped Wildlife Research Station has randomly collected samples from the birds every month after some birds were infected with the H5N1 virus in 2004. Although the number of infected birds was not large, officials took serious action to prevent any spread of the disease. Every month, officials gather excretion and mucus from the open billed storks and send this for lab tests. These birds are tagged with leg bands, so their migration routes can be indicated. When an outbreak occurs, the information will help officials to contain the disease. “ We can indicate the area to prevent the outbreak from spreading, if we can track their migration routes.”, said Krairat Iam-ampai, head of Bueng Boraped Wildlife Research Station.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

A rising tide

Bangkok Post - www.bangkokpost.com
08 May 2008
N Thongtham
Photo courtesy of Dr. Nalinee Thongtham
Area: Thailand -- Map It

Act now on global warming before it's too late for Thailand's coastline and coral reefs

Thailand's coral reefs, which have attracted tourists since the 1960s, could be lost in 50 years if carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions continue at current rates over the next eight to 10 years. The warning came from Dr Marea Hatziolos, senior coastal and marine specialist at the World Bank, who was one of the scientists who warned of the impact of climate change on coral reefs around the world at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, last December. "The current level of CO2 equivalent accumulation in the atmosphere is 430ppm [parts per million]," she said. "At current rates, an accumulation level of 450ppm is expected to be reached by 2015, and scientific evidence suggests that once CO2 accumulation in the atmosphere reaches 550ppm, coral reef ecosystems will be extensively and irreversibly damaged," and reef-building corals will largely disappear.

The Washington, DC-based expert on coastal zone management recently spoke at a seminar organised by the World Bank at its Bangkok office in Siam Tower, Rama 1 Road, recently. The event attracted a full house comprising mostly of marine biologists, researchers and officials involved in coastal management and protection. Although coral reefs occupy only 0.2 per cent, or 284,300km2 - a little more than half the size of Thailand - of the ocean floor, they contain the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, she said. They provide a habitat for many species of fish, crustaceans and other marine life, and serve as buffer against strong waves that erode coastlines during storms.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS

PrP genotypes of free-ranging wapiti (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) with chronic wasting disease
Journal of General Virology. 2008 May;89(Pt 5):1324-8 [online abstract only]
M Perucchini et al.

Epidemiology of H5N1 avian influenza
Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 2008 Apr 28 [Epub ahead of print][