Wildlife Disease News Digest

Ugandan Monkeys Harbor Evidence Of Infection With Unknown Poxvirus
ScienceDaily – www.sciencedaily.com
22 Apr 2008
Location: Kibale National Park, Uganda, Africa - Map It

Red colobus monkeys in a park in western Uganda have been exposed to an unknown orthopoxvirus, a pathogen related to the viruses that cause smallpox, monkeypox and cowpox. Most of the monkeys screened harbor antibodies to a virus that is similar – but not identical – to known orthopoxviruses.

This is the first effort to screen Ugandan red colobus monkeys for orthopoxviruses, said Tony Goldberg, a professor of veterinary pathobiology and of anthropology at the University of Illinois and lead author on the study.

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Mercury Migrating Out of Rivers to the Shore
New York Times- www.nytimes.com
22 Apr 2008
H Fountain

Mercury contamination can be a big problem in rivers, as it moves up the food chain accumulating in top predators. But what goes into the river largely stays in the river, or in creatures that feed in it — aquatic insects, fish and fish-eating birds.

In the South River in Virginia, however, the mercury has moved from the river to the shore, according to a study by Daniel A. Cristol and colleagues at the College of William and Mary. They report in Science that some nonaquatic bird species not feeding on fish but that breed within 50 yards of the river have high mercury levels in their blood.

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Cited Journal Article

The Movement of Aquatic Mercury Through Terrestrial Food Webs.
Science. 2008; 320 (5874): 335

Wild bee decline 'catastrophic'
BBC News – news.bbc.co.uk
23 Apr 2008
Location: United Kingdom
Photo courtesy BBC News

Wild bee populations around the UK are experiencing "catastrophic declines", the Bumblebee Conservation Trust has warned. Mary Celeste Syndrome - where a honey bee hive is found almost completely deserted - has appeared in Scotland.

The Stirling-based trust's Dr Ben Darvill described bumblebees as an "insurance policy", given the problems facing colonies of honey bees. Bees are important pollinators of flowers and crops.

Dr Darvill said: "The whole suite of pollinators are declining simultaneously." The UK has 18 true bumblebee species and many are seriously threatened due to habitat loss.

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How to Clip Bird Flu's Wings: The best way to beat bird flu and other zoonotic diseases is to keep humans and wildlife healthy
Scientific American – www.sciam.com
23 Apr 2008
D Biello
Photo courtesy of Scientific American

In the absence of news reports, bird flu might seem to have flown the coop. Unfortunately, it never actually went away—and is now worse than ever. "There are more flu infections in more countries than ever before," said veterinarian William Karesh, head of the Field Veterinary Program of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), during a WSC conference in New York City last week.

. . . These diseases are hard to stop because they are not only spread by wild animals, mosquitoes and the like but, even more commonly, by billions of livestock animals, such as chickens, ducks and geese raised for food in vast factory farms. Zoonotic outbreaks are triggered by a range of factors, including man-made changes to natural habitats that bring humans into contact with wildlife as well as airplanes and other forms of transport that allow "speedy, long-range dissemination of any disease agent," says veterinarian Arnon Shimshoni of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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>>> Fresh bird flu infection, culling to begin in Tripura - Map It

>>> 2 New Suspected Cases of Bird Flu Reported - Map It

Ontario Eliminates Raccoon Rabies
CNW Group – www.newswire.ca
23 Apr 2008

Raccoon rabies has been eliminated in Ontario. Since the first case in 1999, Ontario has had 132 cases of raccoon rabies. International standards, set by the World Organization for Animal Health (http://www.oie.int/eng/en_index.htm), requires two years without a case of rabies before a jurisdiction can confirm it has eliminated a particular strain of rabies.

The last confirmed case of raccoon strain rabies in Ontario was in September 2005. The ministry has eliminated the disease through a combination of rabies vaccine baits programs (www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Rabies/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_166285.html),

Trap-Vaccinate-Release (www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Rabies/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_166325.html) and

Point of Infection Control
(www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Rabies/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_166326.html)

Ontario will continue monitoring for raccoon rabies to ensure early warning of possible new outbreaks.

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