UN: Migratory Birds not Major Cause of Flu Transmission
Xinhua News Agency (Posted by China View)
02 Nov 2006
UN officials on Thursday said migratory birds do not play a major role in the transmission of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1. They made the remarks at the first international Living Lakes Conference in this capital of east China's Jiangxi Province. Dr. Vincent Martin, an official with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UNFAO), said the spread of bird flu is mainly the result of the world's fast and unregulated development of animal production to meet the increased demand for animal protein.
Highly concentrated domestic poultry production systems, especially in Asia, are still using centuries-old practices that place humans and poultry in close proximity, he said. Meanwhile, the constantly evolving nature of the virus has provided the ideal conditions for the emergence of new pathogenic strains of avian influenza. Evidence indicates wild migratory birds play a minor role in the long-distance spread of the virus, he said, adding that the main causes of the deadly disease are the trade of poultry and poultry products.
Marco Barbieri, executive secretary of Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), said the spread of bird flu receives a lot of attention in the media yet there remains widespread misunderstanding of the issue. Misinformation has led to wild birds being automatically blamed, the official said. "This creates political pressure for ill-advised and disproportionate policies such as the culling or harassment of wild birds and the destruction of wetland habitats."
Study Fingers Migrating Ducks in Bird Flu Spread
AntaraNews
03 Nov 2006
Migrating ducks, geese, and swans spread the H5N1 bird flu virus from Russia to Romania, Turkey and Ukraine, researchers said on Thursday. A careful analysis of the spread of the virus from central Asia into eastern Europe in the autumn of 2005 shows that wild birds, especially mallard ducks, were the chief spreaders of the virus.
"We conclude that the spread of (highly pathogenic avian influenza) H5N1 virus from Russia and Kazakhstan to the Black Sea basin is consistent in space and time with the hypothesis that birds in the Anatidae family have seeded the virus along their autumn migration routes," the researchers wrote in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Anatidae include geese, ducks and swans, some of which are killed by H5N1, and other species of which often show no ill effects from the virus but which can spread it. Mallard ducks are the main suspect. Bird flu remains mainly an animal disease, but has infected 256 people since late 2003, killing 152 of them, according to the World Health Organization.
Red Alert for Squirrel Patrol
Johnston Press Digital Publishing (Posted by Berwickshire Today)
03 Nov 2006
A last-ditch bid is being made to save the red squirrel in Scotland with a protection patrol being set up at the border. The next six months are seen as crucial for the survival of the reds who are under threat from disease carrying grey squirrels migrating from England. So great is the risk to the threatened reds that the Scottish Executive has put forward cash to instal two grey squirrel control officers in the south of Scotland.
The project is based at Newcastleton but if successful it will be rolled out right along the Border to Berwickshire. If the scheme does not work then the future for the reds is bleak, according to Pip Tabor, manager of the Southern Upland Partnership.
"The next six months is crucial," he said. "If we can show we can stop the disease money might be spent to put in Border-length controls. "If we can't stop the disease then then the red squirrels days are numbered. If we can't control it or if nobody is prepared to fund the control of it then we could lose the reds altogether."
Mr Tabor added: "In time we could lose the whole of the red squirrel population in Scotland which would be tragic as people come here specially to see them." The Southern Upland Partnership has been put in charge of the project but there is only enough money to fund the officers for six months.
DEC Confirms Fish Disease in Two More NY Lakes
The Associated Press (Posted by Newsday Inc.)
02 Nov 2006
Testing has confirmed a deadly disease among fish in two more New York lakes following an outbreak of viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS, in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Relatively common in continental Europe and Japan, the virus causes internal bleeding in fish but is believed to pose no threat to humans. It has now been confirmed in eastern Lake Erie and Conesus Lake in western New York, where small groups of dead fish washed up on shore, the DEC said.
VHS was first confirmed in New York in May 2006, linked to the death of thousands of fish in eastern Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, including many round gobies and some muskellunge. More recently, it killed walleye in Conesus Lake.
Hook Line & Sinker: Biologists Discuss Fish Virus
Pantagraph Publishing Co. and Lee Enterprises (Posted by Parntagraph.com)
01 Nov 2006
Fisheries biologists from Illinois are meeting with officials in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss a virus attacking fish in some areas of the Great Lakes. The outbreak of viral hemorrhagic septicemia in Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River has led to a freeze on the transport of live fish to and from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Canada.
That translates to a screeching halt to new fish for Project Green Genes, a 10-year study of what strains of muskies will grow best in Illinois. Biologists can only watch the growth of the fish stocked in the past three years. The freeze also means Illinois can’t count on shipments of muskies to augment the numbers it needs to stock elsewhere across the state next year if the problems with growing muskies at Illinois at hatcheries aren’t worked out.
Other species in the ban include black crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, chinook salmon, coho salmon, largemouth bass, pike, smallmouth bass, walleye, white bass and yellow perch.
Illinois’ hatchery system covers its own needs with regards to some of the species, such as bass, walleye and catfish. Others, such as crappie and bluegill and catfish, rely on natural reproduction at many sites. The impact on other species is being evaluated. Illinois will not be allowed to trade overabundant species from the hatcheries, such as catfish, for other species until the ban is lifted.
Ohio Sportsmen Hope for Ban Modification
The Plain Dealer (Posted by Cleveland.com)
03 Nov 2006
D'Arcy Egan
Bait dealers, fish farmers and steelhead trout anglers around Ohio are hoping state wildlife experts convinced federal officials in Washington this week to modify a live fish transportation ban.
The ban was put in place Oct. 23 to halt the spread of a saltwater virus, Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS). It most likely arrived in the Great Lakes in the ballast of ocean freighters and has been killing fish, including tens of thousands of Lake Erie freshwater drum last spring.
The emergency rule by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, bans the interstate shipment of 37 species of live fish from eight Great Lakes states, as well as Ontario and Quebec.
Pennsylvania Game Commission: Rabies Confirmed In Fisher In Cambria County [Press Release]
Pennsylvania Game Commission (Posted by Yahoo)
02 Nov 2006
Dr. Walter Cottrell, Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife veterinarian, today announced the state Department of Health's laboratory in Lionville, Chester County, has confirmed that a fisher recovered near St. Michaels, Cambria County, was rabid. This particular fisher had become a part of the Game Commission's ongoing research project seeking to learn more about this member of the weasel family.
"This is the first recorded case of rabies in this species in Pennsylvania," said Dr. Cottrell. "Like any mammal, fishers are susceptible to rabies, but it has never been confirmed in this species before.
"With many Pennsylvanians, including hunters, trappers and hikers, preparing to enjoy outdoor activities in Penn's Woods, we wanted to remind them to be cautious if they encounter any wild animal acting in an unusual manner, and not to handle wildlife they find dead."
Expanding Bird Flu Detection
Daily Express, Sabah, Malaysia Internet Edition
02 Nov 2006
The Flock Sentinel method which has been implemented at the Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre (KKWC) in Likas since the middle of last month to boost bird flu surveillance and prevention efforts in Sabah, will be expanded to three more districts. The method involves the setting up of a cage in which about 30 ayam kampung will be released as baits in a location commonly visited by migratory birds.
The migratory birds are expected to come and share the food prepared for these chickens, and if any of these migratory birds have been infected with bird flu it will definitely spread to the chickens. Samples from these chickens will enable them to easily and immediately detect any presence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
Department of Veterinary Services and Animal Industry (Dovsai) Director, Datuk Haji Awang Sahak Salleh, said following the effectiveness of the sentinel at KKWC the department is planning to extend it to Beaufort, Kota Belud and Tawau. "Our officers led by my Deputy Director of Veterinary Health and District Development Dr Nasip Eli visit the sentinel in KKWC once a week to take samples of the ayam kampung in the cage to see whether any are infected by HPAI É so far so good, the results of all samples taken have been negative.
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