RPT-Canada to Test 4,200 Wild Birds for Avian Flu
Reuters AlertNet
2006 May 18
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, May 18 (Reuters) - Canada will test thousands of wild birds for the H5N1 strain of bird flu this summer in a bid to contain the deadly virus if it arrives in the country, a Canadian Food Inspection Agency spokesman said on Thursday.
"To date the Asian H5N1 (virus) has not been recorded in Canada. There is potential risk with this particular strain," Canadian Food Inspection Agency spokesman Jim Clark said at a press conference.
Canada kicked off the wild-bird flu surveillance program on Thursday. It will include testing about 4,200 live birds in the western provinces British Columbia and Alberta, and eastern Atlantic provinces and Quebec.
In mid-summer, surveillance will expand to southern Canada, where about 1,200 dead birds will be sampled.
Symptoms from possible exposure to foreign avian flu are not expected to show until then, said Ted Leighton, Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre spokesman.
If a wild bird tests positive for the deadly strain, poultry farms within 3 kilometers (2 miles) of the discovery will be quarantined, Clark said.
Whirling Disease Falls on Huntington Creek
Deseret Morning News
2006 May 18
Ray Grass
Whirling disease continues to spread here in Utah. Its most recent victim is Huntington Creek, one of Utah's recognized blue-ribbon waters. According to officials of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, of 60 fish tested for the disease, six were positive.
Huntington Creek flows from Electric Lake south along State Road 31 toward the town of Huntington. It has been a very popular fishing spot for area fishermen, as well as those camping in the Manti-LaSal National Forest. The discovery of the disease does not surprise fish biologists. The disease was discovered last year in tributaries that flow into Huntington Creek. It was, as one biologist pointed out, only a matter of time.
Already, the disease has cost the DWR millions of dollars in sportsman's money.
Last year, the disease was found in the Springville fish hatchery. Officials had no choice but to destroy between 800,000 and 900,000 fish. A quarter-million of those fish were catchable size.
Qinghai Bird Flu Caused by Fish Farms?
Phayul.com
2006 May 17
Author Namgyal
Almost a year after the outbreak of bird flu among the wild birds near Qinghai Lake (Tso Ngonpo) that killed tens of thousands of wild birds and Qinghai came to be associated with a deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, new cases of flu among wild birds have been reported since late April near Qinghai Lake and in Yushu county, a remote nomadic region several hundred kilometers to the south of Qinghai Lake. The outbreak in wild birds continues to fuel fears that migratory birds as carriers of the deadly avian flu could lead to global pandemic. China’s secrecy and the stonewalling of requests for information on the flu outbreak continue to fuel speculation about the role of migratory birds in the spread of flu.
Over the past year, the spread of the flu has not been correlated with the migratory routes and seasons of wild birds. Indeed, some global studies have found that migratory birds are not the cause of the current wave of bird flu outbreaks stalking large parts of the world. Rather, outbreaks have been concentrated in the factory farms of China, South East Asia and elsewhere in the world. In India, the epicenter of outbreak of bird flu took place in 18 poultry farms in and around Navapur in Maharashtra. Since the Qinghai Lake outbreak last year, outbreaks in other parts of world have occurred along major transport routes. However increasing evidence suggests that commercial poultry and its products, not migratory bird populations, are the likely vectors of avian flu.
Namibia: Rabies Hits Flagship Game Species
allAfrica.com
2006 May 16
Author Chrispin Inambao
Namibia's flagship trophy game species, the kudu, is under threat from rabies that have already devastated record numbers of the antelope and sources in the industry have voiced concern that the outbreak could impact negatively on the hunting season that is due.
Two veterinarians Dr Otto Zapke and Dr Beate Voights confirmed the outbreak, with Dr Zapke saying probably "thousands" of kudu died in the Omaruru area where recently no cases of the contagious disease have been brought to his attention.
Dr Zapke said the Okahandja and Windhoek areas are showing more prevalence of rabies, while Dr Voights said there is a tendency among farmers not to report cases of the deadly viral disease that can affect all warm-blooded animals and has various known strains.
With over 5 000 trophy hunters, the hunting industry directly generates N$100 million for the country each year and N$200 million is generated indirectly as secondary revenue.
Namibia Professional Hunting Association (NAPHA) affiliated sources revealed the contagion was initially detected at a farm in the Wilhelmstal area before it spread north via farms at Omaruru, Otjiwarongo and then it spread eastwards and scattered southwards.
"It is a flagship species. People come to Namibia because of kudus," said one source.
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