Lake Monroe Duck Mystery Seems to Be Partially Solved
Orlando Sentinel
20 Jul 2007
R Perez
Area: Florida, USA
The mystery surrounding the deaths of more than 70 ducks on Marina Island appears to be solved. Botulism likely caused most of the deaths. Experts at the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis., made the determination based on tests on one of the Lake Monroe ducks. State wildlife officials ruled out pesticides and herbicides as possible causes. But liver damage that was found in other ducks has created another mystery.
At least two ducks had liver lesions that suggest an algae-related toxin could have contributed to their deaths. "The acute cause of death was botulism," said Mark Jankowski, a wildlife-disease ecologist for the federal center. "But two birds did have some liver problems." The spate of duck deaths began in late June. During three weeks, more than 70 of the mallards that congregate on the man-made peninsula were found dead or dying.
Vets Urged to Help on Human Disease
Kentucky.com
16 Jul 2007
J Bernstein-Wax
The nation's top public health official on Saturday urged veterinarians to work more closely with human health researchers to curb contagious diseases. "Thirteen out of the last 14 new infectious diseases that have affected people have arisen from animals," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Atlanta-based federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"We need a health system that can do fast science, fast detection ... fast and effective communication, and a very, very important piece of this fast system is the alert veterinarian," she told the American Veterinary Medical Association's annual convention in Washington. Animals' sicknesses can provide an early alert to environmental problems, human disease -- and even bioterrorist attacks.
Mystery Infection Primary Cause of Carp Die-off; Residents Urged to Clean Up Shorelines to Prevent Health Risks
The Petersborough Examiner
19 Jul 2007
...Cathcart said when he learned of the carp die-off in local lakes, he contacted not only Durham Region, where the die-off began on Lake Scugog in June, but also Ottawa, where a mass death of carp and other fish happened last year. There were no reports of illnesses or increased bacterial counts in the water in either case, he said. As well, no other creatures appear to be dying similar deaths, he said.
The most relevant factor is the scientific test released to the public last week, which found the bacteria columnare was in a dead carp sample from Sturgeon Lake, Cathcart said. At the time, ministry officials said they would continue to look for a primary cause of the die-off, and yesterday Beechie confirmed “the primary cause really appears to be an infection of some sort.” “The bacteria doesn’t really seem to be the primary cause,” he said.
WEST NILE VIRUS UPDATE 2007 - WESTERN HEMISPHERE (14)- ProMED Mail Archive Number 20070719.2321
ProMED Mail
19 Jul 2007
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
In this update:
[1] Canada: human surveillance
[2] Canada: bird surveillance
[3] USA: CDC/ArboNET
[4] USA: USGS/CDC maps
[5] USA: other locations
Journal Articles of Interest
Exotic Parasite of American Coot Discovered in Exotic Snail in Lake Onalaska
Wildlife Health Bulletin 07-01
Clinical and Pathologic Features of Lineage 2 West Nile Virus Infections in Birds of Prey in Hungary
K Erdelyi et. al
Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases Jun 2007,7(2): 181-188.
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