Wildlife Disease News Digest

DNR to Test Harvested Deer For TB in Northwest Minn.
My Fox Twin Cities - www.myfoxtwincities.com
07 Nov 2007
Photo Courtesy of myfoxtwincities.com
Area: Minnesota, USA

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will once again be testing deer harvested by hunters for bovine tuberculosis. The testing will be done in the northwest region of the state, where cattle and wild deer were found to have contracted the disease in 2005. The Minnesota Board of Animal Health detected another TB-positive cattle herd near Grygla – the eighth herd found to be infected.

"The announcement of another bovine TB-infected cattle herd last week is a constant reminder that we need to remain diligent in our attempts to rid both our domestic cattle herds and wild deer of this disease," commented Dr. Michelle Carstensen, DNR Wildlife Health Program Coordinator. "The DNR will continue surveillance efforts this fall. We want to remind hunters that they need to register their deer and we encourage them to have their deer tested for the disease."

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Pennsylvania Game Commission Announces EHD Confirmed in Indiana County [News Release]
Pennsylvania Game Commission
06 Nov 2007
Area: Pennsylvania, USA

Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife veterinarian, today announced that the test result from a juvenile male deer has confirmed that epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) has been found in Conemaugh Township, Indiana County. This sample was collected on Oct. 25. Other counties in which EHD has been confirmed this year are: Allegheny; Beaver; Cambria; Fayette; Greene; Lawrence; Washington; and Westmoreland. EHD also was confirmed in farmed deer in Franklin County, but no wild, free-roaming deer have been found infected with EHD in that or any other counties at this time.

Samples from other locations in the state are still pending and will be reported in future updates. "Our Wildlife Conservation Officers, Land Managers and other field staff have been on the look out for evidence of EHD in wild deer," Dr. Cottrell said. "We urge anyone finding dead deer or sick deer to contact our region offices with specific information.

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Higher Levels of Pollutants Found in Fish Caught Near a Coal-fired Power Plant [News Release]
EurekAlert - www.eurekalert.org
7 Nov 2007
Area: Pennsylvania, USA

Emissions from coal-fired power plants may be an important source of water pollution and fish contamination, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health in a study being presented at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in Washington, D.C. The study, abstract number 157770, found higher-than-Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-recommended levels of mercury and elevated levels of selenium in channel catfish caught in a rural area upstream of Pittsburgh and downwind from a coal-fired power plant.

Both mercury and selenium are well-known contaminants of coal burning for power generation. The results will be presented at a special session on “Contaminants in Freshwater Fish: Toxicity, Sources and Risk Communication,” at 8:30 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 7. To complete the study, researchers recruited local anglers to catch channel catfish from the three rivers area of Pittsburgh and from Kittanning, Pa., an area 40 miles upstream of Pittsburgh.

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Feral Pigs Could Infect Hunters With Disease
The Shreveport Times - www.shreveporttimes.com
6 Nov 2007

n Brucella suis is contagious to people and other animals

Although Louisiana's domestic swine are free of brucellosis, the feral swine population is not, so hunters should take precautions when handling their quarry. "Feral pigs can be infected with Brucella suis, which is contagious to people and other animals," said Dr. Christine Navarre, extension veterinarian for the LSU AgCenter. The blood and reproductive organs of infected pigs can be contaminated with the infectious organism and lead to brucellosis infection in hunters exposed during field dressing of infected pigs.

"Infected pigs may not show any signs of infection, but they can still pass on the disease," Navarre said. Brucellosis in people can cause serious a flu-like symptom, which is a high intermittent fever that usually occurs at night and lasts for months to years if not treated properly. Brucellosis is known for causing abortion in livestock species and illness in other animals. Hunting dogs should not be allowed to eat parts of feral swine carcasses. Carcasses should be properly disposed of to prevent this infection from spreading.

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