Wildlife Disease News Digest

Threat of chronic wasting disease stirs up elk refuge
Omaha Newstand - www.bellevueleader.com
03 Mar 2008
D Hendee
Photo courtesy of TR Michels
Area: Nebraska United States

Change is in the wind at Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, and it's swirling around the elk herd. The threat of chronic wasting disease from deer and wild elk outside the high-wire fences, however, is compelling refuge managers to reconsider how they deal with their confined herd. "We're trying to avoid the day when we'd have to put all of our elk down to minimize the spread of CWD (chronic wasting disease). That's our concern. That's what we're struggling with,'' said Todd Frerichs, acting refuge manager.

Chronic wasting disease is a contagious neurological ailment affecting deer, elk and moose. It causes a spongy degeneration of the brains of affected animals resulting in emaciation and death. The disease hasn't been detected in Nebraska's wild elk population or in the Fort Niobrara confined herd. Three deer shot by hunters within 20 miles of the refuge tested positive for CWD in 2006. No deer with CWD were taken within 100 miles of Fort Niobrara in 2007.

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MPs put strings on badger cull
Western Mail - icwales.icnetwork.co.uk
04 Mar 2008
S Dube
Photo courtesy of BBC
Area: United Kingdom

Further support for a cull of badgers as part of the struggle to beat the epidemic of TB emerged last week from the influential Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee of the House of Commons. But the MPs said the cull should only take place in areas at high risk of the disease and only under certain conditions. And the committee’s report said farmers must accept it would not form a cornerstone of UK Government policy. It was not a suitable method of controlling the disease in cattle in all areas.

And they warned of scientific evidence that “patchy, disorganised or short-term” culling could make things worse. The Efra committee recommended that licences to cull should only be granted if a range of conditions were met. These include that it should be done competently and effectively, and co-ordinated to cover as large an area as possible, with clear boundaries that would stop other badgers bringing in the disease from outside the cull area. The MPs urged a multifaceted approach, targeting both cattle and wildlife in a bid to beat what they called “one of the most serious animal health problems” of modern Britain.

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More park bison sent to slaughter
Billings Gazette - www.billingsgazette.net
04 Mar 2008
Photo courtesy of NASA
Area: Montana United States

Sixty-nine bison from Yellowstone National Park were shipped to slaughter Monday morning as part of an ongoing operation to keep them from leaving the park. So far this year, 544 bison have been sent to slaughter. About 100 more are in a capture facility in the northwest corner of Yellowstone awaiting shipment, park officials said. The bison are hazed, captured and sent to slaughter as part of an agreement between the federal government and Montana to reduce the risk of bison spreading brucellosis, a contagious disease that can cause abortions, to cattle in the area.

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White-nose syndrome, bats - USA (04): (Northeast)- Archive Number 20080304.0880
ProMED-mail (Source: USGS National Wildlife Health Center)
26 Feb 2008
Area: United States

The condition in bats that is labeled 'white-nose syndrome' was first noted among dead and hibernating bats within several caves near Albany, New York in February 2007. During the late winter/early spring of 2007, observation of bats with a white substance on their noses was also accompanied by a bat die-off, with an estimated 90 percent mortality in one affected hibernaculum. This winter [2007-2008], although substantial bat mortality has not occurred, bat researchers have identified bats presenting with white noses at hibernaculae in New York, Vermont, and Massachusetts. A coordinated effort involving both state and Federal laboratories to conduct postmortem evaluations of bats from sites harboring bats presenting with white noses has been established.

Thus far, euthanized bats with and without white noses from affected and unaffected sites have been examined, and laboratories are standing by to receive additional specimens as mortalities occur. The most noteworthy finding to date has been the poor body condition of many of the bats examined -- they had little or no subcutaneous white fat stores. A primary etiological agent has not been identified, and investigations of underlying environmental factors in conjunction with potential secondary microbial pathogens or toxicants are underway. Molecular based pathogen screening and analyses for metabolic problems are also being pursued. Following is a brief summary of laboratory and histological findings to date.

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OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of Biology News Net