CBS4 Denver
21 May 2007
Area: Denver, CO USA
Tissue samples from a deceased monkey at the Denver Zoo tested positive for bubonic plague, zoo officials announced Monday. The zoo learned late Friday from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment that the hooded capuchin monkey had the plague. The monkey seemed lethargic last Tuesday and was found dead Wednesday morning by a zookeeper, zoo officials said. It's unclear if the monkey contracted the disease from infected fleas, or if the monkey ingested the remains of an infected squirrel.
The zoo suspects it's from ingestion. None of the other monkeys in the troop have displayed signs of illness, but antibiotics have been administered as a precaution. “Denver Zoo remains in regular contact with CDPHE,” Senior Veterinarian Dave Kenny said in a prepared statement. “And although the risk of contracting plague to people and animals in the area is extremely low, we are continuing to emphasize communication with visitors to prevent exposure to squirrels and rabbits."
USDA Testing a 2nd Montana Herd for Brucellosis
The Associated Press (Posted by localnews8.com)
21 May 2007
Area: Montana USA
The US Department of Agriculture today is testing a second herd of Montana cattle for brucellosis (broo-suh-LOH'-sis). The herd is located on a ranch near Emigrant in the Paradise Valley. Seven Montana cows from a herd near Bridger tested positive for the disease earlier this month. If just 2 of the cows in the Emigrant herd test positive, Montana would lose it's brucellosis-free status.
Increase in Ticks Brings Lyme Danger to Region
Kalamazoo Gazette
21 May 2007
R Parker
Area: Michigan USA
Turkey hunters, mushroom seekers, trail bikers and wildflower enthusiasts -- everyone's out in the woods on these beautiful spring days. The ticks are there too, lurking in droves, waiting to suck the blood of anyone careless enough to let them. With the ticks comes this new threat: Any one of them might be harboring Lyme disease. Until just a few years ago, that possibility was pretty much confined in Michigan to a few counties in the Upper Peninsula.
But black-legged ticks carrying the bacterium borrelia bugdorferi have spread up and down the Lake Michigan lakeshore, making this Michigan's new hot spot for Lyme. When treated promptly, Lyme disease is no worse than the flu and can be knocked out in a few weeks with a course of antibiotics. But if it is not treated, the disease may lead to serious, chronic joint, nervous-system or cardiac problems that are difficult to treat. A distinctive, bull's-eye rash develops around the bite in 60 percent to 80 percent of early Lyme cases, but those cases that don't include a rash can present such an array of symptoms that the disease has been nicknamed ``the great imitator,'' said Erik Foster, wildlife and vector ecologist for the Michigan Deputy of Community Health.
Fish Disease Spreading Rapidly
The Wichita Eagle
20 May 2007
M Pearce
Area: Kansas USA
Kansas fishermen are already dealing with invasive pests such as zebra mussels, white perch and several species of Asian carp. As problematic as they are, they may be nothing compared to an invasive disease that's affecting fish populations in and around the Great Lakes. Viral hemorrhagic septicemia, a disease first detected in European rainbow trout hatcheries in the mid-1900s, was detected in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the late 1980s and made its way inland two years ago. "Most of the pathologists I've talked to say this is the big one that's been looming out there.
It's extremely deadly," said Doug Nygren, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks fisheries chief. "It can be transported easily. We don't want VHS in Kansas." Greg Kozlowski, of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, said it was first noticed in a large die off of freshwater drum in Lake Huron. Lake St. Clair, between Lake Erie and Lake Huron, later noticed a muskellunge die off.
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