Maryland Limits Imports of Animal Parts To Prevent Deer Disease
abc 7 NEWS
07 Sep 2006
Photo courtesty of abc 7 NEWS
State wildlife regulators, hoping to prevent chronic wasting disease from reaching Maryland's deer herd, announced new limits Thursday on imports of venison and other meat and trophies from certain out-of-state hunts. The restrictions apply to meat and other parts of deer, elk, moose and other antlered species killed in areas with confirmed cases of CWD.
CWD is a naturally occurring, fatal disease of the brain and nervous systems of antlered species. It has been found in 14 states, including neighboring West Virginia, and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Travelers may pass through Maryland with the carcasses of antlered species, provided that no parts are left in the state.
The restrictions are aimed at preventing imports of animal brains, spinal columns and other tissues that contain the highest concentrations of infectious tissues.
Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification ProgrFederal Register and Interstate Movement of Farmed or Captive Deer, Elk, and Moose; Delay of Effective Date
Federal Register
08 Sep 2006
SUMMARY: We recently amended the regulations to establish a herd certification program and interstate movement restrictions for cervids to control the spread of chronic wasting disease. That final rule had an effective date of October 19, 2006. We are delaying that effective date until further notice, to give the agency time to consider several petitions we recently received that asked for the rule not to take effect as scheduled. This delay is needed to allow the agency to consider the issues raised in the petitions and decide what action to take in response to them.
DATES: The effective date for the final rule amending 9 CFR part 55 and adding 9 CFR part 81, published at 71 FR 41682, July 21, 2006, is delayed until further notice. APHIS will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing any new effective date or other decision.
No H5 Viruses found in Canadian Wild BirdsCanadian Press (Posted by CTV.ca)
07 Sep 2006
A national wild bird surveillance program aimed at detecting whether H5N1 avian flu has made its way to Canada via migratory birds has found no evidence of the worrisome virus so far. With testing completed on about a quarter of the target 12,000 birds, no H5 avian flu viruses of any sort have been isolated, Dr. Ted Leighton, executive director of the Canadian Co-operative Wildlife Health Centre, said in an interview.
A similar, larger scale program in the United States has also so far failed to turn up any sign of the highly pathogenic Asian form of the H5N1 virus. That turn of event supports the contention of a soon-to-be published journal article that suggests migratory birds are an unlikely source of introduction of the virus into North America.
"It seems to me that migratory birds are extremely unlikely,'' said John Rappole, an ornithologist with the Smithsonian Institute in Washington who co-authored the article, which will appear in October's issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases. "I certainly wouldn't predict that it would be here this year, next year, the following year.''
Leighton said about 5,500 birds have been sampled so far this year and initial tests looking for avian flu viruses have been run on about 43 per cent of those. A number of avian flu viruses have been found, but none were H5 or H7 viruses.
Bird Flu's Spread Tracked With Satellite-Linked Swans (Update1)
Bloomberg.com
07 Sep 2006
Author Vesna Poljak
Swans fitted with the same global positioning system satellite transmitters used to navigate cars may help scientists better understand the role wild birds play in the spread of avian influenza. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said its scientists are teaming with other agencies including the U.S. Geological Survey to track the birds during their seasonal migration across Asia and Europe.
The study will alert governments to potential threats from birds carrying diseases, such as the H5N1 avian flu strain, which reached 38 countries this year. The virus is known to have infected 241 people in 10 countries, killing 141, since 2003. Millions could die if the virus mutates to become easily transmissible between people, sparking a lethal pandemic.
``We are working to understand the role wild birds may play in the spread of H5N1,'' Scott Newman, the FAO's international wildlife coordinator for avian flu, said in a statement on the agency's Web site. ``Although poultry and bird trade are probably the primary routes of movement, migratory birds are likely involved in some areas.'' The project, which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, also involves the Wildlife Conservation Society and Mongolian Academy of Sciences.
Birds and Influenza H5N1 Virus Movement to and within North America [Journal Article]
Emerging Infectious Diseases
John H. Rappole and Zdenek Hubalek
Sep 2006
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 expanded considerably during 2005 and early 2006 in both avian host species and geographic distribution. Domestic waterfowl and migratory birds are reservoirs, but lethality of this subtype appeared to initially limit migrant effectiveness as introductory hosts.
This situation may have changed, as HPAI H5N1 has recently expanded across Eurasia and into Europe and Africa. Birds could introduce HPAI H5N1 to the Western Hemisphere through migration, vagrancy, and importation by people. Vagrants and migratory birds are not likely interhemispheric introductory hosts; import of infected domestic or pet birds is more probable.
If reassortment or mutation were to produce a virus adapted for rapid transmission among humans, birds would be unlikely introductory hosts because of differences in viral transmission mechanisms among major host groups (i.e., gastrointestinal for birds, respiratory for humans). Another possible result of reassortment would be a less lethal form of avian influenza, more readily spread by birds.
No comments:
Post a Comment