Importing Deer And Elk Carcasses From CWD States Illegal
www.wakulla.com
16 Oct 2006
It is illegal to bring into Florida carcasses of any species of the family Cervidae (e.g. deer, elk and moose) from 10 states and one Canadian province where chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
The states and Canadian province where the deadly disease has been detected are: New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, West Virginia and Alberta, Canada. Visit the United States Department of Agriculture’s Web site at www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahps/cwd/ for the most up-to-date CWD coverage.
“To date, no cases of CWD have been found in Florida,” said Deer Program coordinator Robert Vanderhoof of the FWC’s Division of Hunting and Game Management. “Hunters can help prevent the spread of CWD into Florida by observing the restrictions placed on bringing carcasses in from other areas where the disease has been detected.”
Scientists Find Ebola, Marburg Virus Key
United Press International (Posted by Science Daily)
16 Oct 2006
U.S. researchers say they have found the key mechanism by which the lethal viruses Ebola and Marburg viruses cause disease. The discovery by scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Columbia University and the Caribbean Primate Research Center is expected to lead to new drugs for treatment of certain viral hemorrhagic fevers in humans and apes.
The researchers identified an amino acid sequence in Filoviruses that results in the rapid depression of immunological response. That information can be used to start development of new drugs to halt the devastating diseases. Filoviruses are associated with outbreaks of fatal hemorrhagic fever in sub-Saharan Africa.
Viral hemorrhagic fevers are of specific concern because they are associated with high morbidity and mortality and the potential for rapid dissemination through human-to-human transmission. Both humans and apes are susceptible to viral hemorrhagic fevers and it is speculated filovirus infections account at least in part for the recent decline in the gorilla and chimpanzee populations in central Africa.
More Dengue Fever Cases Reported in India
United Press International (Posted by Science Daily)
17 Oct 2006
Dengue fever in India has now infected more than 5,100 people, killing more than 100 in recent weeks and causing chaos in the nation's health system.
The rapid spread of what's known as "bonecrushers' disease" is also producing financial disarray in a nation of 1.1 billion that also has the world's largest number of HIV cases and is struggling with the re-emergence of polio, The Financial Times reported.
The disease is spread by mosquitoes, with humans developing symptoms within a week after being bitten. Dengue hemorrhagic fever, a more severe form of the disease, has a 5 percent mortality rate, the World Health Organization says.
Medical officials told The Financial Times this year's dengue fever toll could exceed that of 1996, when the virus claimed more than 423 lives and infected more than 10,000 people.
US to Sponsor Seminars for Avian Influenza Surveillance in India
zeenews.com
14 Oct 2006
The US government will be sponsoring a series of workshops and seminars to strengthen the surveillance and detection capacity for avian influenza in India. The US Department of Health and Human Services announced a grant of Rs 1.7 crore to the World Health Organisation, the Indian Council of Medical Research and the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology to conduct the workshops in India, in collaboration with the US centres for disease control and prevention.
The workshops will aim to strength human capacity for influenza surveillance and response for early warning, verification, reporting, investigations and response to outbreaks of avian influenza. This will help in achieving improved laboratory confirmation for rapid diagnosis of influenza, including the detection of the avian influenza virus that is associated with high mortality and the establishment of molecular surveillance of avian influenza in India.
At the signing ceremony, the US Embassy Charge D` Affaires Geoff Pyatt said he was "pleased that the US government is able to play a significant role in tackling this worldwide public health problem." An influenza pandemic has greater potential than any other naturally occurring infectious disease event to cause large and rapid increases in deaths and serious illness.
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