Bird ‘Flu Follows Trade, Not Migration Routes
BirdLife International
29 Mar 2007
Photo courtesy of T Martin
A comprehensive critical review of recent scientific literature on the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N, published in the British Ornithologists Union journal Ibis[1], concludes that poultry trade, rather than bird migration, is the main mechanism of global dispersal of the virus. The review finds that migratory birds have been widely and repeatedly blamed for outbreaks that have subsequently been found to originate in the movement of live poultry and products such as poultry meat. The authors, French ecologists Michel Gauthier-Clerc, Camille Lebarbenchon and Frederic Thomas of Station Biologique de la Tour du Valat (a research centre for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands) and GEMI (Génétique et Evolution des Maladies Infectieuses –the Laboratory of Genetics and Evolution of Infectious Diseases), warn that a misdirected emphasis on contacts between wild birds and outdoor poultry may lead to a reversion to intensive indoor poultry rearing, which actually increases the risk of outbreaks.
Wild birds constitute a permanent source of gene fragments of low pathogenic avian influenza, which are sometimes transmitted to domestic birds. But Gauthier-Clerc et al. say that how the virus subtypes subsequently evolve depends on poultry rearing practices. “When bird densities are low, a very virulent subtype leading to high host mortality may disappear because of the impossibility of transmitting quickly to healthy birds before the death of sick ones. In Asia, densities of domestic birds are especially high. These ecological conditions favour the preservation and the fast transmission of very virulent strains.”
Hudson Star-Observer
28 Mar 2007
Area: Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says that they haven’t found signs of chronic wasting disease in west-central Wisconsin. DNR officials say that sampling conducted in 19 west central Wisconsin counties during the 2006 deer hunting seasons found no signs of the fatal disease which they say means that CWD has not spread into the area. Biologists, technicians and volunteers collected 9,304 samples for CWD testing from the agency’s west central region and areas of southern Wisconsin that are not in a CWD zone. None of these samples tested positive for the disease.
“This level of sampling was possible only because most hunters now recognize the statewide threat of this disease and helped us in the sampling,” said Bob Michelson, DNR west-central region wildlife biologist. Michelson noted that many hunters volunteered to have the deer they registered tested for the disease. Michelson said the findings show that hunters in west central counties now have some assurance the disease is not present in their hunting areas. The DNR’s west-central region includes St. Croix, Pierce, Pepin, Dunn, Chippewa, Eau Claire, Buffalo, Trempealeau, Jackson, Clark, Marathon, Portage, Wood, Adams, Juneau, Monroe, La Crosse, Vernon and Crawford counties.
Rabies Control for Human and Animal Promoted
VietNamNet Bridge
04 Jan 2007
About 30 trainees from Vietnam and Cambodia have attended a training course held in Ho Chi Minh City on improving diagnosis and control of rabies in humans and animals.
Also taking part in the course were experts from Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, France and Switzerland. The course was jointly organised by Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute and the Paris Pasteur Institute with assistance from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the international network of Pasteur institutes, the Phnom Penh Pasteur Institute, and the French Consulate in HCM City.
According to Dr. H. Bourhy from the Paris Pasteur Institute, the diagnosis of rabies in humans and animals in Viet Nam should be stepped up by expanding protective measures taken in all localities nationwide. Rabies is a highly infectious disease that affects countries across the world with the largest number of cases being concentrated in Asia. Between 1994-2003, Viet Nam successfully controlled rabies, but in recent years, fatal cases of the disease have increased in the country.
The Wildlife TraffickersThe Sydney Morning Herald
24 Mar 2007
Photo courtesy of Australian Customs Service
Area: Australia
Dealers in drugs and guns are being attracted to animal smuggling by lighter penalties and big profits. Lorna Edwards reports.
The rendezvous point could be an airport car park. The supplier - or a middleman - will meet the "mule" to deliver a load of Australia's precious wildlife plucked illegally from the bush. The eggs of rare, and even common, birds will be taken from an incubator powered by the car's cigarette lighter and concealed in a purpose-made body vest containing rows of tiny pockets. The courier then has only to get through customs without attracting any unwanted attention.
For their part of the deal, the courier gets a free international flight, perhaps with spending money. At the time of transport, the eggs are usually days away from hatching. Sometimes they hatch on the flight and are cruelly crushed by the couriers to avoid the attention that the chirping of fledglings might bring. If they make it to their destination alive, the birds will most likely make their way to private collections in North America, Europe or Japan, where Australia's many unique birds are prized as pets. Some will go to wildlife parks or zoos.
State Kills 257 Wild Hogs, But Eradication Called Unlikely [Maybe?]
High Plains Journal
02 Apr 2007
Area: Kansas
Aerial hunters approved by the state shot and killed 257 wild hogs in Kansas during a two-day hunt in mid-March, but experts say the troublesome swine will continue to wreak havoc in the state. An estimated 2,000 feral hogs make Kansas home, while Missouri might have as many as 10,000. Nationally, feral swine are estimated to number 4 million and cause nearly $1 billion in damage. The hogs are blamed for stealing field crops, ruining wetlands and potentially spreading disease to livestock.
And they have no natural predator, meaning they can reproduce with little or nothing to stop them. Although many hunters would like to go after the hogs, the state of Kansas has banned such hunting, hoping to take away the incentive for people to release the hogs into the wild. But landowners say they are still constantly asked by hunters for permission to hunt the hogs. Brenna Wulfkuhle, who raises cattle near Stull, said the hog hunters "don't get it." Hunting hogs only spreads them across the landscape, she said.
Journal Article(s) of Interest
Conversion of the BASE Prion Strain into the BSE Strain: The Origin of BSE? [free full-text available]
PLoS Pathog 3(3): e31
R Capobianco
H5N1 Viruses and Vaccines [free full-text available]
PLoS Pathog 3(3): e40
K Subbarao and C Luke
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