Wildlife Disease News Digest

TOP STORIES

Conservationist to aid parrots in peril
Science Centric - www.sciencecentric.com (Source: University of Kent)
23 Jun 2008
Image courtesy of the University of Kent

A once critically endangered species of parrot now under threat from a highly contagious virus may be offered a renewed chance of survival by a conservationist at the University of Kent. Dr Jim Groombridge, Lecturer in Biodiversity Conservation at the University's Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), has been awarded GBP215,594 from the Leverhulme Trust to lead a three-year project that aims to determine what factors drive the Mauritius parakeet's susceptibility to infection, and in particular the spread of the highly contagious (and often lethal) parrot-specific virus Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD) that has recently infected this endangered parrot.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Frolicking chimp youngsters spread deadly epidemics
NewScientist - www.newscientist.com
23 Jun 2008
E Callaway

Child's play among wild chimpanzees may spread deadly outbreaks to the rest of the family. A 22-year study of respiratory disease epidemics among chimps has found that death and disease spikes when numerous chimps neared 2 and a half years old – the age at which young apes frolic the most. "Chimps pull hair and roll together, but then afterwards they come back to the mother," says Christophe Boesch, a primatologist at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, who was involved in the study. Such cycles mimic schoolyard epidemics in children. "We all know that when kids are of a certain age they will come back with a flu and all the family will get it," Boesch says.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article
>>>The Price of Play: Self-Organized Infant Mortality Cycles in Chimpanzees. PLoS ONE 3(6): [Epub ahead of print].

Reported Wildlife Mortality Events to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center Updated
USGS National Wildlife Health Center
23 Jun 2008
Area: United States

USGS and a network of partners across the country work on documenting wildlife mortality events in order to provide timely and accurate information on locations, species and causes of death. This information was updated on June 20, 2008 on the USGS National Wildlife Health Center web page, New and Ongoing Wildlife Mortality Events Nationwide. Quarterly Mortality Reports are also available from this page. These reports go back to 1995.

>>>Updated Wildlife Mortality Event Table

Solving the brucellosis problem
Great Falls Tribune - www.greatfallstribune.com
22 Jun 2008
JD Black
Area: United States
Image courtesy of MSU-Bozeman

A possible solution to Montana's brucellosis woes could rest inside small, mice-filled cages at Montana State University-Bozeman. That is where David Pascual, a researcher with MSU's Department of Veterinary Molecular Biology, is working to create a vaccine to prevent the disease in bison. . . . So how could science being tested in mice, intended for bison, possibility prevent future brucellosis cases in cattle. More than 50 percent of the bison herd in Yellowstone National Park test positive for brucellosis, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Those bison, along with elk in the Greater Yellowstone Area, are the only known wildlife populations in the United States infected with Brucella abortus, which causes brucellosis, according to APHIS. The Pray-area cow diagnosed with brucellosis is believed to have gotten the disease from elk, said Montana State Veterinarian Marty Zaluski. "It's not definite, but we do feel elk are the likely source," he said.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>>More Wyo. cattle may have brucellosis
>>>Federal, state governments enact restrictions on Montana

Why the Price of Honey More than Doubled
Daily Green - www.thedailygreen.com
18 Jun 2008
K Flottum
Area: United States - Map It

No, It Isn't Just Colony Collapse Disorder

. . . So summer starts right now but already reports of problems are surfacing. Reports that that new disease ... Nosema cerane ... is rearing its ugly head are surfacing again. When this new disease show up in early summer infected colonies do not build up like they should, they don’t grow like they should, they don’t make the honey crop beekeepers expect, and they start costing money instead of making money. It left unchecked, the adult bees all pretty much disappear by fall, leaving just young bees and a queen ... Wait, doesn’t that sound like Colony Collapse Disorder? Sure it does ... but scientists, so far, don’t think that’s all CCD is.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>>New bee checklist lets scientists link important information about all bee species

Last Week's Top 10 Digest Links

Flame retardant linked to deaths of falcons could affect humans

Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine - June 2008 Issue

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) - April 2008 Issue

Platypus disease mapped

Rare whale found dead on Assateague Island

Impact of West Nile virus and other mortality factors on American white pelicans at breeding colonies in the northern plains of North America

Insecticide 'killing Kenya lions'

Wildlife take to the 'high' road

Dolphins found dead off Cornish coast 'committed suicide', wildlife expert claims

The Wildlife Professional - June 2008 Issue

WDIN Highlights Issue - June 2008
Vol 03, Issue 06

Table of Contents

Stepping Out at the USGS Geographical Information Science Workshop: Showcasing the WDIN Global Wildlife Disease News Map
Upcoming Events
Sidenotes - Attention Mapmakers!
In the Spotlight - Learn Something New About WDIN - Browse the WDIN Highlights Archive
Top WDIN Resources Links for May 2008
New Resources Added to the WDIN Web Site

>>>Highlights Bulletin

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH NEWS
Image courtesy of marinebio.org