Rabid Bat Found in Washington Township
Centerville-Bellbrook Times
02 August 2006
Jim Good
A rabid bat was found in Washington Township, the first rabid animal discovered in Montgomery County this year, according to the Combined Health District of Montgomery County.
Bill Wharton, spokesperson for the health district, said that a woman in Washington Township last week reported a live bat in her driveway at her residence.
The bat was taken by the health district, put down, and sent to the Ohio Department of Health laboratory for testing. The laboratory confirmed on July 27 that the bat tested positive for rabies.
Wharton said that it is common for bats to be infected with rabies, but in this instance felt the need to investigate the woman's claim due to multiple rabies-infected bats recently discovered in Greene County. The bat was destroyed due to its strange behavior.
USDA Distributes Oral Rabies Vaccine Across Appalachian States
USDA - APHIS
01 August 2006
RIVERDALE, Md., Aug. 1, 2006--Wildlife Services, a program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will distribute oral rabies vaccine baits beginning on, or about Aug. 8, to prevent the spread of raccoon rabies in portions of Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Baits containing oral rabies vaccine will be distributed over rural areas using low-flying twin-engine aircraft and hand baiting will occur in populated regions using ground-based vehicles. The projected two-week program will target raccoons and result in the distribution of approximately 4.3 million baits covering roughly 20,535 total square miles across five states.
This season, WS is shifting the Appalachian Ridge vaccination zone 5 miles east in Virginia and West Virginia based on the drop in rabies cases west of the zone. By strategically shifting the targeted area, WS is working toward reducing and eliminating rabies in these states. Enhanced surveillance in this area helped confirm that WS and cooperator efforts are working to keep the raccoon variant of rabies from spreading westward.
Researchers Find Hunting can Increase Severity of Wildlife Disease Epidemics
EukaAlert (Posted by The Hindu)
18 July 2006
Athens, Ga.: This press release issued by EurekAlert says that a new study by University of Georgia researchers shows that the common practice of killing wild animals to control disease outbreaks can actually make matters worse in some cases.
In a study published the August 7 edition of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, post-doctoral researcher Marc Choisy and Pejman Rohani, associate professor of ecology and UGA Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute researcher, create a detailed mathematical model that demonstrates how the combination of hunting and factors such as birth season and mating season influence disease outbreaks. Their results suggest that wildlife managers and health officials use caution when considering hunting or culling as a means to manage diseases as diverse as rabies, tuberculosis and even avian influenza.
"One consequence of hunting that we show in this paper is that it can increase the probability of dying from the disease," Choisy said. "It can give you results that are contrary to what you expect."
Duck Population in Aylesbury Devastated by Botulism Outbreak
The Bucks Herald (Posted by AylesburyToday)
03 August 2006
The duck population of Aylesbury has been decimated in the worst ever outbreak of the virus botulism to hit the town's canal basin.
The deadly waterborne disease started about a month ago and has killed many other animals who have made contact with the canal. So far St Tiggywinkles, the wildlife hospital, has found 45 dead ducks at the basin and managed to rescue a further 15 who had contracted the illness.
Thirty-three dead fish, two moorhens, two pigeons and a baby blackbird have also been found dead and a cat living near the canal also became sick. Residents have been warned not to let their children or pets play near the area. The once thriving canal basin is now virtually deserted of wildlife. Bread is strewn over the banks but there are no ducks left to eat it - only rats.
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