Common Sense Demands Badger Cull
The Telegraph - www.telegraph.co.uk
24 Oct 2007
Area: United Kingdom
The badger-lovers smell a rat. They see Sir David King as a stooge put up to rubbish the 10-year study delivered by Prof John Bourne earlier this year, which said badger culling might actually be counter-productive in controlling bovine TB.
To be sure, there were always those in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs — Lord Rooker for one — who were never happy with Prof Bourne's conclusions and who were convinced a cull of badgers as well as cattle was needed in the most infected areas. But remember, it has been the job of Sir David, as chief scientific officer, to review a lot of science where the researchers could not see the wood for the trees. This time he has done us all a favour by cutting through the sophistry, sentimentality and obfuscation that has bedevilled the area of bovine TB control and replaced it with common sense.
Rabid Skunk Trapped Near Loma
The Daily Sentinel - www.gjsentinel.com
23 Oct 2007
M Saccone
Area: Colorado, USA
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has confirmed that a skunk trapped near the Loma boat launch has tested positive for rabies. Kristy Westerman, spokeswoman for the Mesa County Health Department said the skunk, which was trapped last week, is the first animal other than a bat to test positive for rabies in Mesa County in at least three decades.
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the skunk was trapped after it exhibited aggressive behavior toward a man. Westerman said residents should avoid contact with wild or stray animals and vaccinate their pets.
Reuters UK - uk.reuters.com
24 Oct 2007
M Kahn
Photo Courtesy of Reuters/L MacGregor
Area: United Kingdom
Controls will probably prevent the large-scale spread of bird flu from one farm to another in Britain but there is still a significant chance that the virus will escape, researchers said on Wednesday. Using data collected on poultry farms, feed mills and slaughter houses, the researchers ran millions of computer simulations to calculate the potential impact of the H5N1 avian influenza virus striking Britain's poultry industry.
The detailed model showed that with current control strategies about 73 percent of the infections would not spread beyond the originally infected farm. But this also meant there was a 27 percent chance a random infection would spread, though probably only to a small number of sites because of safeguards in place, said Kieran Sharkey, a mathematician at Liverpool University, who worked on the study.
OTHER WILDLIFE DISEASE NEWS
- Red Tide Outbreak Leads To Questions
- Deer Feeding Prohibited for 30 Days if Bear or Elk Stop By
- Global Animal Health Initiative: The Way Forward
WILDLIFE DISEASE RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Radiographic Features of the Limbs of Juvenile and Subadult Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta) [online abstract only]
Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research. 2007 Oct;
AL Valente et al.
Studies of Reservoir Hosts for Marburg Virus. [PDF]
Emerg Infect Dis. 2007 Dec; [Epub ahead of print]
R Swanepoel et al.
Bartonella australis sp. nov. from Kangaroos, Australia. [Letter][PDF].
Emerg Infect Dis. 2007 Dec; [Epub ahead of print]
P-E Fournier et al.
Newfound Hantavirus in Chinese Mole Shrew, Vietnam [PDF]
Emerg Infect Dis. 2007 Nov; [Epub ahead of print]
J.-W. Song et al.
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