Project Takes Aim at ‘Monster at Our Door’
Penticton Western News - pentictonwesternnews.com
03 Jun 2007
K Michaels
Area: British Columbia Canada
Stretching far back into human civilization, interactions with animal populations have had dire consequences on human health. Fleas are believed to have caused the outbreak of the plague which some estimates say killed 75 million people. In recent years avian flu has caused pandemic-panic and dining on the civet cat in China spurred SARS, and worldwide fervour. All of the aforementioned illnesses are examples of zoonotic diseases — the name of any type of disease that’s spread from animals to people.
And while many of those ailments have received widespread attention as they have ravaged pockets of people across the globe, others that are just as dangerous are flying under the radar. Of particular interest to University of B.C. researcher Jack Teng are deer mice and tick populations. For Teng, the purpose of his pilot study is to try to get attention focused on the health risks linked to those species and to further the understanding for how human populations are affecting their prevalence. “There hasn’t been a systematic search of ticks for a long time in the B.C., the last one was in the ‘30s and there hasn’t been a study on lyme disease and hantavirus,” he said.
Reported Wildlife Mortality Events to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center Updated
USGS National Wildlife Health Center
05 Jun 2007
Area: United States
USGS and a network of partners across the country work on documenting wildlife mortality events in order to provide timely and accurate information on locations, species and causes of death. This information was updated on May 31, 2007 on the USGS National Wildlife Health Center web page, New and Ongoing Wildlife Mortality Events Nationwide. Quarterly Mortality Reports are also available from this page. These reports go back to 1995.
Many of State’s Fish Species Susceptible to Disease
The Dunn County News - thedunnconnect.com
04 Jun 2007
R Seely
Area: Wisconsin USA
A leading national expert on the deadly virus that has now been identified in Wisconsin fish says the genetic history of the disease shows many of the state’s fish species are particularly vulnerable to infection and that the disease is likely to pose “an extremely serious threat for the next several decades.” Jim Winton, chief of fish health for the U.S. Geological Survey in Seattle, said the strain of viral hemorrhagic septicemia that has been discovered in Wisconsin is dangerous because the state’s fish species have no immunity. That makes it especially important, Winton added, that the state do everything it can to prevent spread of the virus, which has been confirmed in fish in the Lake Winnebago chain and in Lake Michigan. But Winton said this is more than likely just the beginning.
“I wouldn’t bet against it already being in the Mississippi River system and spreading,” Winton said. “The horse is out of the barn, but we just don’t know how far.” Heeding the ominous message of Winton’s science, the state Department of Natural Resources has taken numerous steps to better control the movement of water and bait by anglers and boaters, has halted stocking of fish from its hatcheries, and has established a permit system for bait dealers. The state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has issued fish health advisories on the disease to fish farms, which the agency regulates, but has not toughened any of its permitting regulations for commercial bait dealers. While the virus is deadly to fish, it cannot be contracted by humans.
Park Service, State Reach Bison Pact
The Associated Press (Posted by havredailynews.com)
04 Jun 2007
M Gouras
Area: Montana USA
Tensions between stockgrowers and Buffalo Field Campaign heightened after brucellosis found in herd.
The National Park Service and the state of Montana agreed Friday to truck a renegade group bison into Yellowstone National Park if they resist the latest hazing efforts — an effort aimed at preventing the slaughter of week-old bison calves. Gov. Brian Schweitzer announced the plan with Suzanne Lewis, superintendent of Yellowstone National Park. Schweitzer said it was hammered out with the help of U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. The plan would preclude sending the cows and calves to slaughter — an issue that had brought intense scrutiny from bison advocates.
“A pardon has been granted,” Schweitzer said. The agreement received mixed reaction from both sides of the debate: ranchers who want the bison off their summer feed ground and worry they will transmit disease to their livestock and those who want free range for the Yellowstone animals. About 300 bison, including 100 calves born this spring, have been roaming on summer cattle grazing lands near West Yellowstone in recent weeks, despite several hazing attempts. On Thursday and Friday, state agents on horses and in a helicopter, pushed them back into the park.
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