State to Begin Testing Wild Birds for Avian Flu
BrooklineTab
06 July 2006
Monica Deady
As states prepare for a potential pandemic flu, Massachusetts will start sampling wild birds this week for the deadly strain of avian flu known as H5N1.The state will be collecting up to 400 samples, targeting resident Canada geese, migrating mallards, long tail ducks, and common eiders, but Brookline's role in the collection process is not yet known. The state also plans to respond to calls from residents about three or more waterfowl and shorebirds sick and dying in the same location.
"As of right now it looks like we're not going to be [part of the collection effort]," said Alan Balsam, director of the town's health department, although he said he was still waiting to hear about whether Brookline would be called to do anything in the surveillance project. "We're waiting to hear how local municipalities are going to fit in on this."
"It's a nationwide effort," said Thomas O'Shea, assistant director of wildlife in the state's Division of Wildlife and Fisheries. "It's largely ducks and geese we'll be sampling." The sampling is being funded through a $40,000 federal grant and an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Each state has a different number of samples to collect, O'Shea said.Asked when avian flu is expected to show up, O'Shea said, "No one knows for sure. I don't think we can really make confident predictions about that."
Los Angeles Times
06 July 2006
Jia-Rui Chong
An outbreak of bird flu in Nigeria this year stemmed not from a single source of the virus, but rather three distinct strains that entered the country at different times, according to a new study. Researchers, who published their findings today in the journal Nature, found the different strains most closely resembled those identified in Egypt, Russia and Mongolia.
Some experts said the findings suggested the Nigerian outbreak — the first in Africa — was caused by migratory birds carrying the H5N1 bird flu virus and the illegal sales of infected poultry.
"This reinforces that not only is there a natural distribution of the H5N1 virus through migratory birds, there's another intercontinental human distribution system via trade," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infection control doctor at Vanderbilt University who was not connected with the research.
Authorities Move to Contain Bird Flu on Cape Farm
Sapa-AP and Reuters (Posted by Business Report)
06 July 2006
Johannesburg - A Western Cape farm had been placed under quarantine and all 60 of its ostriches culled in a bid to contain an outbreak of avian influenza, the department of agriculture said this week.
Tests at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute confirmed the presence of the H5N2 strain of bird flu, regarded as less dangerous than the H5N1 strain that has affected birds across Asia, Africa and Europe, and continues to occasionally infect humans.
Authorities acted quickly to contain the outbreak, which was believed to be confined to the farm near the southwestern coastal town of Mossel Bay, said the department.
"It is hoped that with the support of all role players, the outbreak can be curtailed rapidly and that South Africa's export status for ostriches and poultry will not be affected," the department said.
"Negotiations with our trade partners have started."
Prion Disease Infectivity Causes Heart Damage in Mouse Study
National Institute of Health News
06 July 2006
Laboratory mice infected with the agent of scrapie — a brain-wasting disease of sheep — show high levels of the scrapie agent in their heart several hundred days after being infected in the brain, indicating that heart infection might be a new aspect of this disease, according to a research paper released online today by the journal Science.
Collaborators in the work include scientists at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML), part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health.
"Undoubtedly, this work will enable scientists to pursue new theories about the effects of these deadly brain wasting diseases," says NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. "The implications of this research could be vital to our efforts to slow or stop these diseases." “Although much work remains to be done, the diseased hearts seen in this mouse study have similarities to human amyloid heart disease, which is potentially significant,” says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
Scrapie belongs to a group of diseases called prion diseases, also known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies or TSEs because of the sponge-like holes created in the brain. In addition to scrapie in sheep, prion diseases include Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in humans, mad cow disease in cattle and chronic wasting disease in deer and elk. The cause of prion diseases, still under debate, may be abnormal aggregated forms of prion protein.
African Bushmeat Sold in Europe, America, Scientists Say
Reuters (Posted by CNN.com)
05 July 2006
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Meat from wild animals including primates is being sold in clandestine markets in North America and Europe, according to a report released Wednesday.Wildlife biologist Justin Brashares, of the University of California, Berkeley, and a team a volunteers tracked down the illicit trade in Paris, Brussels, London, New York, Montreal, Toronto and Los Angeles.
"I have 27 records of chimpanzee and gorilla parts being sold in markets," Brashares told New Scientist magazine.
"In each case it was not a complete body, but a hand, leg or in two cases, a head," he added.
Bushmeat is meat from wild animals including gorilla, chimpanzee, forest antelope, crocodile and bush pig. It is a food staple among forest-dwelling communities in Africa and a source of income for thousands of people.
But the hunting and sale of wild animal meat is a threat to endangered species and also poses a health risk because eating bushmeat has been linked to fatal illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and Ebola.
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