Hunters, Scientists Work together to Chase Virus
The Associated Press (Posted by The Olympian)
10 June 2006
Nearly 350 miles above the Arctic Circle, a traditional Eskimo feast to celebrate a successful whale hunt is in the making. On the table, chopped-up chunks of wild fowl are ready for the pot - all except for a lovely king eider duck.
Before this duck is plucked and cooked, a government scientist will swab it to take a sample for bird flu testing. Scientists have been posted in Barrow - the nation's northernmost city - to look for early warning signs that migratory birds are bringing the deadly virus to North America.
No one knows when or if H5N1 avian influenza will arrive on U.S. shores, but if it does come by wild bird, experts want to know early on, before it can devastate the poultry supply, or worse.
Booming Bushmeat Trade Threat to Africa Wildlife
Reuters AlertNet
12 June 2006
Elephant trunks and smoked gorilla limbs hang from Emile Ndong's stall, "ripening" in the tropical heat. "A good ceremony, a marriage or an initiation is worthless unless you serve game at the table," said Ndong, a hawker at the bustling Oloumi market in Gabon's capital of Libreville.
Ndong is one of many profiting from Africa's booming trade in bushmeat -- a blood-soaked business that has serious consequences for the continent's wildlife.
Finding ways to curtail this industry will be discussed at an international conference in Madagascar from June 20 - 24, which will seek ways to harness Africa's ecological treasures for development, while also protecting them.
"Bushmeat is probably the biggest threat to biodiversity in central Africa," said Juan Carlos Bonilla, head of the Central Africa programme for Conservation International, the main organiser of the Madagascar symposium.
Tularemia Crops up in Texas Jackrabbits
Reuters News Service (Posted by Chron.com)
10 June 2006
The latest case of the disease, which can be transmitted to humans, was found in Amarillo
An unusual number of dead jackrabbits in Texas has authorities concerned that so-called rabbit fever, or tularemia, could be making a comeback. The bacterial disease can infect humans but is rarely fatal.
The latest case was confirmed recently in an area near Rick Husband International Airport in Amarillo, according to Amarillo Bi-City-County Health District officials.
There have been no human cases have been reported in the most recent outbreak, but since 2002, there have been seven human cases of tularemia reported in Texas.
"In my opinion, you would be better off not eating or handling rabbits that come from anywhere near the infected area," said Ken Cearley, Texas Cooperative Extension wildlife specialist. People can contract the disease through direct contact with an infected animal or carcass via broken skin, the bite of an infected flea or tick, eating infected meat, or inhaling the bacteria.
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