COMMENTARY: West Nile: The Role of Weather and Climate
E MAGAZINE.COM
Jan 2007
J Motavalli
Dr. A. Marm Kilpatrick is a senior scientist at the Consortium for Conservation Medicine, based at the Wildlife Trust in New York City. He was part of a team, working with the New York State Department of Health and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center producing findings last May that American robins are the primary carrier of the West Nile virus in the northeastern US.
Taking censuses of different species, the research team determined that mosquitoes feed on robins 43 percent of the time, even though robins make up only four percent of the birds at those sites in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. Robins carry a moderately high level of the virus in their blood when they’re infected, which makes it more likely that they’ll infect the mosquitoes that bite them.
Hunters Lobby Legislature with initiative in back pocket: Idaho Lawmakers Focus on Elk Farms
NewWest – Travel & Outdoors
09 Jan 07
B Schneider
. . . Compton explained that the ISCAC is not backing any specific bill at this time but will support legislation that matches the group’s positions. Prime among those positions are the prohibition of shooter bull operations and the dismantling or phasing out of game ranching operations to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease.
Even though 30 legislators are members of the Idaho Sportsman’s Caucus, Compton suffers no illusions about any easy victory. In Montana, the legislature failed several times to pass game farm reform before hunters took the issue directly to the voters.
Rabid Raccoons Found in Manchester, Enfield
Journal Inquirer.com
09 Jan 07
J Hoyt
Health and animal control officials are stressing the importance of pet vaccinations after several rabid raccoons have been discovered in the region. In Manchester two rabid raccoons have been found since Dec. 31 on opposite ends of town, Animal Control Officer Elease McConnell said. The raccoons were discovered after they fought with dogs. One of the dogs wasn't vaccinated against rabies, so by state law it had to be euthanized, McConnell said.
Two other rabid raccoons were recently discovered in Enfield, according to the North Central District Health Department. Health officials say there isn't a pandemic of rabies. Instead, the unseasonably warm weather has caused wild and domesticated animals to interact more, leading to the discoveries of the rabid raccoons.
Ramifications of Widespread Use of Tamiflu
Newswise
03 Jan 07
Widespread use of the antiviral Tamiflu to fight pandemic avian flu in humans could actually lead to the development of what public health officials hope to avoid––drug-resistant strains of the virus in wild birds. British researchers at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Oxford have released findings in the January 2007 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) that demonstrate how Tamiflu’s persistence in wastewater and river water could affect the waterfowl that drink from those water sources.
Since the World Health Organization’s first warning of an avian flu pandemic two years ago, nations worldwide have been stockpiling Tamiflu for treatment and outbreak prevention. The drug, which minimizes flu symptoms and duration, inhibits the movement of the influenza virus from the cells it infects, and also helps uninfected people avoid contracting the flu. However, Tamiflu’s active agent, the metabolite oseltamivir carboxylate (OC) would be excreted into sewers for several weeks during a pandemic and is expected to withstand biodegradation. According to the researchers in the current study, once birds drink OC-laced water from catchments receiving treated wastewater, they could produce Tamiflu-resistant strains and pass them on to other birds who share the same waters.
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