Sage Grouse Infected with West Nile: Dead Birds Found in Malheur County
KTVZ
22 Aug 2006
Three sage grouse found dead in Malheur County have been confirmed to be infected with West Nile Virus, the first diagnosis of the disease in sage grouse in Oregon, officials said Tuesday. The dead sage grouse were reported by a private landowner near Burns Junction and investigated by ODFW and U.S. Geological Survey biologists, who found three fresh sage grouse mortalities, more than 60 decomposed sage grouse and one sick northern harrier.
The three sage grouse samples and the northern harrier were tested at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center in Madison , Wis. and confirmed positive for the disease. A team of biologists from ODFW and USGS are now monitoring the area for additional mortalities and collecting blood samples from live sage grouse to test for the presence of WNV antibodies.
The sage grouse mortality appears to be localized to an area near Burns Junction at this time. Since 2003, West Nile Virus has been detected in sage grouse in Wyoming , Colorado , Utah , Nevada , California and Idaho . The disease is usually fatal to sage grouse, resulting in death within six days of infection.
Caucasus, Balkans at High Risk for Deadly H5N1 Virus
Stackyard
22 Aug 2006
Photo Courtesy of Stackyard
The deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus, or bird flu, continues to threaten people, animals and economies in a growing number of countries, according to FAO, despite numerous successful efforts in several countries to contain the spread of the virus.Though the disease has now been confirmed in some 55 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, up from 45 in April this year, the rate of infection among poultry has slowed in most countries, according to FAO surveillance reports, thanks to programmes and projects to improve surveillance efforts, strengthen veterinary services and in some cases through the implementation of vaccination campaigns.
The deadly virus continues to spread in Asia, particularly in Indonesia where 45 people were confirmed to have died from bird flu. There have also been new outbreaks in Thailand recently and HPAI has been confirmed at a commercial poultry farm in Laos.
Related Links:
Both endemic and new virus strains to blame for bird flu recurrence in Asia
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First Birds Test Positive for West Nile
The King Township Sentinel
23 Aug 2006
York Region Health Services reports that four dead birds have tested positive for West Nile virus (WNv). One jay was found in Markham, close to the intersection of Bayview Avenue and Highway 7. A crow was found in Aurora, close to the intersection of Yonge Street and Vandorf Sideroad.
Two more crows were also located in Newmarket, at the intersections of Yonge Street and Eagle Street and Yonge Street and Davis Drive. The birds were picked up through the WNv surveillance program. They are the first positive birds reported in York this season. Previously, a mosquito pool found in the area of Schomberg tested positive for the virus.
Last year, the first two positive birds in York were reported Aug. 8 and were found in Markham. In 2005, five human cases, 22 birds and 14 mosquito pools tested positive for the virus in the region. To date, there has been one reported case of WNv in humans in Ontario this year, and neither was in York.
Grey Squirrel Virus Wiping Out RedsScientific American
21 Aug 2006
Jeremy Lovell
Photo Courtesy of Scientific American
Britain's native red squirrels, already in headlong retreat, are being wiped out not just by competition for resources with non-indigenous gray squirrels but from a virus the grays carry, research showed on Monday.
The squirrel poxvirus is harmless to the grays but kills reds within two weeks of contact, said the researchers from Newcastle University and Queen Mary, University of London among others. In the absence of a vaccine, they proposed killing gray squirrels that enter the few and rapidly shrinking areas in Britain where red squirrels are still found.
"It is vital we get this disease under control, especially as it is now threatening to spread across the border to Scotland with severe consequences for red squirrel conservation there," said Peter Lurz of Newcastle University's Institute for Research on Environment and Sustainability.
Virus in Bird Creates Dangerous Illusion
The Oregonian
23 Aug 2006
Richard L. Hill
A house finch appears to have two heads, but experts say that avian pox has caused it to have growth
Brian Vattiat did a double-take when an odd-looking bird landed at a feeder in his father's backyard in Oregon City. From all appearances, the bird had two heads. Vattiat grabbed a camera and snapped photos as the bird pecked at the seeds.
"I'm not a bird expert, but it definitely was strange," said Vattiat, 29, who was visiting late last month from Boston. "It looked like it only had one eye, with one head having feathers and the other side was smooth." The bird lingered briefly before it flew off.
A new entry for "Ripley's Believe It or Not?" No, just a very sick bird, say several Oregon bird experts who saw the photos this week. They identified the bird as a young female house finch. It appeared to have a second head with a beak, but likely had an oddly shaped growth caused by a disease, they said.
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