West Nile Infected Birds in BR
theadvocate.com
19 July 2006
Jeremy Bridges
Photo courtsey of theadvocate.com

Dead birds are showing up infected with the West Nile Virus in the Baton Rouge area. Biologists with the East Baton Rouge Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control agency believe that human cases are not far behind.

A dead blue jay infected with West Nile was discovered in the Oak Park area, along with other infected birds in other parts of the city. Biologists feel with increased bird infections a human infection is not far off. One worried local who has lived in the Oak Park area since 1963, not far from where the Blue Jay was found, is Howard McMorris.

"Sometimes you come out here and you got to leave because they (mosquitoes) are really bad," said McMorris. "Better safe than sorry." While Mosquito Control is collecting only blue jays, cardinals and crows, locals like McMorris are not taking any chances. Following Mosquito Control recommendations, he is eliminating standing water around his home and using insect repellent when outdoors.

According to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, only about one in 150 people infected with West Nile will develop a severe form of the disease.

>>>ARTICLE

Coral's Black Plague
The Daily Telegraph
18 July 2006
Nikki Todd

A SINISTER black band of infection attacking coral reefs around the world could signal an emerging global pandemic of coral diseases, scientists fear.

Increasing varieties of diseases have been identified on reefs around the world, the Caribbean being the worst affected area with much of its reef devastated over the last 30 years.

The microbial diseases, including black band, white plague, white pox and white band, come on top of extensive bleaching of corals over the last few years which are believed to leave reefs vulnerable and susceptible to diseases.

Bleaching has been blamed on increasing water temperatures, combined with the ill effect of rising levels of nutrient run-off from the land. Overfishing and other human-related activities are also thought to contribute to the bleaching, which damaged much of the Great Barrier Reef off Australia's eastern coastline in 2002.

Since the bleaching occurrences, new signs of diseases attacking coral have appeared, with the black band microbial infection the latest diagnosed on the GBR. Increased abundance of the infection, which advances by several millimetres a day, was detected near Pelorus Island off Ingham's coastline in far north Queensland, in January.

It steadily kills corals as it chews through the micro-organisms when conditions are ripe to promote its spread. Dr Bette Willis, a chief investigator at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, said while the GBR was the healthiest reef system in the world, the disease's spread was cause for concern.

>>>FULL ARTICLE