Scabies Infecting More Yellowstone Elk: More Elk in Yellowstone Region Infected with Scabies, a Skin Infestation Caused By Mites
The Associated Press (Posted by cbsnews.com)
18 Jan 2007
The number of elk in the Yellowstone National Park region infected with scabies, a skin infestation caused by mites, is up this year, state wildlife officials say. The disease can be fatal, especially when an animal's health has been weakened for other reasons, such as old age or disease. Scabies also can cause animals to lose all their hair, said Jim Miller, a Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks game warden. "I've seen a lot of them that look naked," he said. "Just a little fuzz on them."
The mites that cause scabies live at the base of host hairs and pierce the skin with their mouths. This causes inflammation, hair loss and an "oozing matter which hardens into a scab and ultimately a dark crust," according to FWP information distributed this winter to Gardiner-area hunters. The type of scabies infecting elk is not a threat to humans. Meat from infected elk isn't as tender as meat from healthy elk, park biologist Travis Wyman said.
Keeping the Clover in the Closet [Editorial]
huntsvilleforester.com
17 Jan 2007
Every year we write this same editorial. We don’t want to, but the number of dents in car fenders and side panels caused by deer every winter, for no other reason than some people like seeing the white-tailed critters gracing their backyards, never seems to drop off. So for those people who persist in this inane practice despite all the carnage it causes, maybe this is your year to stop the nonsense and keep the clover in the closet. If you still think feeding deer in the winter (even though the ice and snow are about a month late) is somehow helping these poor creatures survive and live longer, consider what the Ministry of Natural Resources is reporting this week.
“It is such a mild winter for deer that they don’t even need to be in their traditional deer yard areas yet. They are able to roam far and wide and food is no issue,” said ministry wildlife biologist Jan McDonnell. Food is no issue. Get it? That means Bambi is going to be fine without your help. In fact, if you were to keep up the nonsensical practice of deer feeding this year, you would likely be more of an enemy to the creatures who you are so naively trying to protect. McDonnell also stated that concentrated deer populations result in aggression among the deer and can spread a number of diseases such as corn toxicity, Chronic Wasting Disease and Bovine Tuberculosis.
First Case of Insect Transmission of Chagas Parasite in LouisianaLoyola University New Orleans (Posted by sciencedaily.com)
18 Jan 2007
Loyola biology professor Patricia Dorn, Ph.D., in collaboration with Dawn Wesson, Ph.D., of Tulane University Health Sciences Center and Loyola undergraduate student Leon Perniciaro discovered the first human case of insect-transmitted Chagas parasite in Louisiana and sixth ever in the United States. The discovery was made in July 2006 in a rural area of New Orleans. The discovery was made after a resident brought insects to the attention of a pest control operator who identified them as kissing bugs. After researching the bug on the Internet, the resident realized the potential for Chagas transmission.
Because Dr. Dorn is known in this area as the expert on Chagas disease and her ongoing international research in this field, she was contacted to administer the test for the Chagas parasite and further investigate this situation. Both residents were tested at Loyola and the Centers for Disease Control and one resident tested positive for the exposure to the Chagas parasite. Many insects have been collected in the house and the nearby building and studies carried out by Dr. Dorn and her students over the last several months indicate that more than half of the insects tested carry the Chagas parasite. What does this mean and what are the implications for the general public?
VHS: Next Threat to Fish
The Daily Sentinel (Posted by gjsentinel.com)
17 Jan 2007
Dave Buchanan
Just when the Colorado Division of Wildlife might have felt safe in its long-running struggle against the salmonid-killing whirling disease, an even more vicious fish disease is looming on the state’s borders. Viral hemorrhagic septicemia has spread to the Great Lakes, where it was noticed in June 2006 by researchers from Cornell University, into at least one nearby lake. In a story posted on the Cornell Web site, Paul Bowser, Cornell professor of aquatic animal medicine, said “If you think of VHS, you think of the most serious disease of freshwater rainbow trout in Europe.” But he also softened the news by saying the disease currently poses less of a threat in North America.
“Right now, it’s a matter of trying to collect as much information and as fast as possible so we can notify the (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation) so they can make management decisions,” Bowser said. However, fisheries managers in Colorado are concerned enough to warn the Colorado Wildlife Commission that a serious threat to the state’s fisheries is lurking only a state or two away. “It’s not yet in Colorado or any western state, but it’s a bad thing,” cautioned Pete Walker, senior fisheries pathologist for the DOW. Greg Brunjak, a private fisheries biologist and chairman of the state Fish Health Board, told the commission that although the disease originally was thought only to affect salmonids, mortalities from the disease have been reported in at least 40 species in addition to trout and other salmonids.
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