Wildlife Disease News Digest

Another bat cave infected with “white-nose” syndrome
Burlington Free Press - www.burlingtonfreepress.com
21 Mar 2008
Area: Pownal,Vermont, USA

Another southwestern Vermont cave where bats pass the winter is infected with “white-nose” syndrome, a disease that last year killed 8,000 to 11,000 bats in New York state, the largest number of disease-related bat deaths recorded in North America. The latest site to be found with the disease is the Williams Cave in southwest Pownal, said Vermont Fish and Wildlife biologist Scott Darling.

The cave was discovered after local residents found a large number of dead bats on the ground and reported large numbers of bats flying during the day, an unusual occurrence during the winter. “It had all the classic characteristics we’ve found in the other caves where bats were infected. Bats were flying out of the cave during the day and just dropping into the snow or they were clustered outside the cave,” said Darling. Infected bats have a white fungus on their noses. But biologists haven’t determined the source of the disease or why it’s killing bats.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Surveillance shows 24 deer testing positive for CWD
The Southern - www.southernillinoisan.com
21 Mar 2008
Area: Illinois, USA

Ongoing surveillance for the presence of chronic wasting disease in wild deer in Illinois last fall and this winter has detected 24 deer testing positive for CWD. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has received results on tests of more than 4,100 deer which were harvested by hunters or taken by IDNR personnel as part of the 2007-08 deer season sampling program.

The testing has identified the first positive case of CWD from Stephenson County in northern Illinois. The other most recent cases of CWD were found in deer from Boone (7 deer), DeKalb (6) and Winnebago (10) counties. Results are still pending on more than 2,000 additional samples collected since last fall. The first case of CWD detected in Stephenson County came from a deer taken west of Freeport. IDNR staff members are collecting additional samples from deer in Stephenson County to determine if other sick deer are present.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Shelter and Fire Islands Try Device to Kill Ticks
New York Times - www.nytimes.com
16 Mar 2008
C Nardiello
Area: New York, USA
Photo Courtesy of NOAA

SHELTER ISLAND has used deer hunts to try to control its tick problem. Pesticides have been sprayed there and on Fire Island, where disease-carrying ticks are also persistent.Now, dozens of deer-baiting devices called four-posters are being installed in both areas as part of a $1.2 million tick-removal effort.

After some brief tests last fall, this is the first full-time run on Long Island for four-posters — feeder stations that resemble four-poster beds and lure deer with corn. Rollers soaked with the pesticide permethrin rub the animals’ necks as they eat the corn, in hopes of killing ticks.

Studies by the United States Department of Agriculture have concluded that four-posters helped decrease tick populations by 90 percent or more. Entomologists said it would take two to three years to notice a difference in tick populations.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>>Lyme Disease Can Be Prevented With New Shot, Study Suggests

EPIZOOTIC ULCERATIVE SYNDROME, FISH - AUSTRALIA (NEW WOUTH WALES)
ProMED Mail - www.promedmail.org
20 Mar 2008
Area: New South Wales, Australia

Warning on fish disease
-----------------------

New South Wales recreational fishermen heading out for a spot of Easter fishing are being warned to check their catch for signs of Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome or 'red spot disease.' The fish must not be eaten or thrown back but euthanized, by quickly removing the head and disposing in landfill. The disease strips the slimy layer on the fish, allowing a fungus to develop and red lesions and deep ulcers to appear.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

UW, G&F Continue Research into Red Rim Elk Die-offs [News Release]
University of Wyoming - www.uwyo.edu
20 Mar 2008
Area: Wyoming, USA

University of Wyoming researchers continue to collaborate with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (G&F) to identify toxins in lichen that are apparently weakening elk in the Red Rim area southwest of Rawlins to the point they are unable to stand. Approximately 80 elk unable to stand have been killed by G&F personnel since the beginning of March. A similar die-off occurred in early 2004, when more than 400 elk unable to stand were found in the Red Rim-Daley Wildlife Habitat Management Area (WHMA) south of Interstate 80.

"We were hoping we would never see this again, but we are. It seems to be reoccurring this year," said Becky Dailey of Cheyenne, a Ph.D. student in UW College of Agriculture's Department of Veterinary Sciences. Dailey, who has visited the site twice this month, added, "The elk are alert, but they are not able to get up. It's pretty depressing to see." Researchers are confident the culprit is Xanthoparmelia chlorochroa, a lichen common to many areas of Wyoming and the West.

>>>FULL NEWS RELEASE

Related Article
>>>Elk herd moves to safety

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS