Robin Tests Positive for West Nile Virus
latimes.com
21 July 2006
A dead robin found on Lake Arrowhead's western shore has tested positive for the West Nile virus, the first animal in San Bernardino County found to carry a disease that caused 19 deaths statewide last year, officials said Thursday.
Officials are testing mosquitoes in the residential area where the robin was found. Last year, the county logged 35 human cases and one death.
Suspected Anthrax in Axis Deer [E-Mail]
Promed Mail
20 July 2006
Wylie Skelton
Yesterday I was called to a ranch up on the divide, which is 30 miles north of Leakey, to see a dead axis buck in the tank. He was not there the day before but was there the next morning. The owners dragged him out and away from the tank into the trees. They got to thinking and then called me, so I went to look and found sure enough a dead axis buck. They had rain around 2 Jul 2006 so the time frame is about right. There were no eyes or anus when I got there --buzzards -- but also he was in the tank possibly all night. I tried to get some blood from the jugular but no luck there, but I did get some of the bloody liquid from beneath the skin there. I went ahead and ran the quick [anthrax] test you [Mod.MHJ] sent me and when it diffused
across the test well, a line appeared immediately and remained there [signifying positive. - Mod.JW].
I did not open the carcass -- buzzards had opened the rumen already. The owner will do the charcoal thing to destroy it and I may have an opportunity to see another one if one should die, as I prepared them to protect another one and get there sooner if possible. As I was leaving, I had to drive by the adjoining ranch fence some 1/2 mile from where this deer died and -- lo and behold -- there in their water lot was the carcass of a dead cow -- dead about a week
ago. Nothing on that, just absentee owners who lost a cow and they don't care or don't know or both.
DEC Continues Investigation of Death of Lake Ontario Shore Birds and Fish
20 July 2006
Empire Information Services
ALBANY, NY -- (07/20/2006; 1545)(EIS) -- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that the agency is investigating the cause of the deaths of birds found along the shores of Lake Ontario and the Thousand Islands area of the St. Lawrence River. DEC advised the public to take precautions in handling birds and wildlife from these areas until the investigation is completed. Gulls and terns collected from Little Gallo Island during the second week of July tested positive for Type E Botulism.
In recent years, Type E Botulism (Clostridium botulinum) has affected fish and birds in Lake Huron and Lake Erie, and was first documented in birds near Lake Ontario in 2002. Type E Botulism is a specific strain of botulism most commonly affecting fish-eating birds. It causes paralysis in the affected birds and often is fatal. The disease results from the ingestion of a toxin produced by the botulism bacterium and can be harmful to humans who eat birds or fish that have been poisoned by this toxin.
In June of 2006, DEC announced the discovery of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) virus in several fish species from Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, including round goby, muskellunge, and smallmouth bass. The VHS virus is a pathogen of fish and does not pose any threat to public health, and swimming in Lake Ontario or St. Lawrence River waters poses no risk to human health from either botulism or VHS virus.
An outbreak of Type E Botulism first appeared in southern Lake Huron in 1998 and spread to Lake Erie in 1999. In the fall of 2000, the botulism had spread to the eastern part of Lake Erie and thousands of water birds were found washed up on the shoreline. DEC subsequently confirmed Type E Botulism in several species of fish and waterfowl from Lake Erie. In July of 2002 and August of 2005 several gulls were tested around the eastern basin of Lake Ontario and many of those tested positive. There have been no reports of any human illnesses associated with these outbreaks.
Type E Botulism has not been found in any fish from Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence River. DEC is continuing to gather sick and dead birds and fish to check for botulism or other diseases. As part of annual monitoring for the disease, sweeps of specific stretches of the Great Lakes shorelines occur each fall, and any dead birds collected are tested for the disease.
Bird Tests Positive For West Nile Virus
tylerpaper.com
20 July 2006
A blue jay found in Southeast Tyler is the city's first animal to test positive for the West Nile virus this year, health officials said Thursday.
The dead bird was found in the 1700 block of Circle Drive, said Gary Chambers, Northeast Texas Public Health District animal control supervisor.
He said the virus generally first appears in birds, then mosquitoes and humans. A mosquito sample the district submitted to the state in June tested negative; results from a July sample have not been received yet.
Although local health workers have seen plenty of dead blue jays, the mosquito population doesn't seem as high, Chambers said.
"It's just too dry and the problems we are seeing come from homeowners with sprinkler systems that are operating incorrectly," he said.
The health district is continuing its weekly fogging program for the rest of the summer, Chambers said, although that method has limited control.
He urged citizens to reduce contact with mosquitoes by eliminating standing water areas, wearing long sleeves and pants outdoors, using insect repellant, and staying indoors between dusk and dawn, when the insects are most active.
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