Klamath Salmon Still Ailing

times-standard.com
01 Feb 07
J Driscoll

A large portion of salmon in the Klamath River continue to become infected by pathogens and die each year, especially when the water is warm and they crowd into cool spots for relief. Biologists gathered on Wednesday to give a prognosis on the health of the river's fish, and there was not much positive information. Scientists are trying to understand the complicated relationship between conditions in the river, a worm-like host that harbors two key pathogens and how fish handle infection and disease. Studies show that the polychaete worm that is an intermediate host to the pathogens is most heavily infected below Iron Gate Dam, the lowest on the river.

It's also prevalent far above all of the dams, in the Williamson River. High numbers of parasite spores are released when adult spawning salmon die, and the most spawners are seen just below Iron Gate Dam, said Jerry Bartholomew, a researcher for Oregon State University. The annual conference has drawn more people as attention on the Klamath has intensified. Commercial fishing was shut down last year and sport and tribal fishing slashed to protect a weak run of fish, causing tens of millions in economic losses along a long stretch of the West Coast.

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Thirteen Elk Go to Slaughter
jacksonholestartrib.com
31 Jan 07
C Urbigkit

A total of 79 adult cow elk that were tested for brucellosis Monday at the Muddy Creek elk feedground near here spent a quiet night in a round pen in an elk trap while their blood samples were being analyzed in a portable laboratory in Pinedale. Results from the tests revealed that 13 elk had been exposed to the disease, and led to those animals being loaded into a stock trailer Tuesday morning, headed for slaughter. The others were released. Brucellosis is a highly contagious disease that causes abortion in hoofed animals.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department Brucellosis Information and Education Specialist Chris Colligan reported that USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service veterinarian Owen Henderson was on site at the feedground Tuesday morning to seal the trailer of elk for transport to a federally inspected facility in eastern Idaho, where the elk were to be slaughtered. A team of scientists also traveled to Idaho in order to obtain tissue samples from the elk to be cultured for further evaluation. The meat from the animals will be packaged and eventually returned to Wyoming for free distribution. Biologists say elk meat from brucellosis-infected elk is essentially no different from brucellosis-infected cattle, which is allowed to be consumed without special notice to consumers because the brucellosis bacteria are not found in the meat.

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Fish-Killing Virus Heads Toward Lake Michigan
The Associated Press (Posted by greenbaypressgazette.com)
01 Feb 07

A fish-killing virus is creeping toward Lake Michigan. The disease -- viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS -- recently was discovered in the eastern Great Lakes. Michigan state officials say the virus has seeped into northern Lake Huron, only about 20 miles from where it meets Lake Michigan. The disease doesn't pose any risk to humans. But fishing experts worry it could be destructive to the $4.5 billion commercial and recreational industry.

The disease has infected a wide range of species, including salmon, whitefish and walleyes. It's been blamed for large kills of perch, musky and freshwater drum, among other species. It's not known how the disease -- discovered in Lake Ontario in 2005 and since found in the St. Lawrence River and lakes Erie and St. Clair -- got into the Great Lakes. Researchers believe it has been in the Great Lakes at least since 2003.

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New Online Archive Stores Whirling Disease Findings

Mild Avian Flu Strains Cause Disease in Wild Birds
Reuters AlertNet
31 Jan 07

Mild forms of avian flu can cause illness among wild birds, slow their migration and spread faster than previously believed, a study found on Wednesday. The findings alter the view that wild birds did not suffer at all from low pathogenic bird flu. Although milder forms of bird flu are themselves harmless to people, they can pose a serious threat if mixed with human strains. "The study sheds new light on the transmission of these type of viruses but also of highly pathogenic viruses in wild birds," said Ron Fouchier of the Department of Virology at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, who took part in the research.

Current concern over bird flu is focused on the highly pathogenic H5N1 form of the virus which originated in Asia and has killed at least 164 people since 2003. Scientists fear that H5N1 could mutate into a form easily spread between humans, sparking a worldwide pandemic. The report, compiled by Dutch scientists and published in the U.S. scientific journal PLoS ONE, monitored 12 swans, two of which had low pathogenic flu strains H6N2 and H6N8. Its results showed the infected birds launched their migration later, fed slower and flew shorter distances than the healthier birds.

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Related Journal Article

Hampered Foraging and Migratory Performance in Swans Infected with Low-Pathogenic Avian Influenza A Virus

Killing Deer to Stop Disease
todaystmj4.com
01 Feb 07
J Rourke

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is trying to stop the spread of chronic wasting disease. About a dozen sharpshooters go out three times each week to kill deer in areas where CWD has been found in the past. Each shooter usually kills one deer per day. The deer are then tagged, and their lymph nodes are removed. The lymph nodes are then sent to a lab in Madison where they are tested for CWD.

"We need to get ahead of this for the health of the entire herd, and that’s why we’re doing this," DNR Warden Joe Jerich said. They awee shooting in Walworth, Rock and Jefferson counties. The sharpshooters target adult deer because they are more likely to have CWD, but they also shoot fawns. CWD is easily spread within herds because deer can give it to one another through contact or through bodily fluids found in nature.

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Prion Disease Treatable if Caught Early

Journal Articles of Interest

Molecular Analysis of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus of subtype H5N1 Isolated from Wild Birds and Mammals in Northern Germany (Online abstract only)
J Gen Virol. 2007 Feb;88(Pt 2):554-8.
S Weber and et al.

Metabolic Bone Disease in Wild Collared Doves (Streptopelia decaocto) (Online abstract only)
Vet Rec. 2007 Jan 20;160(3):78-84.
GO Cousquer and et al.