TOP STORIES
Devil vaccine could save species
Perth Now - www.news.com.au
02 Jun 2008
M Denholm
Photo courtesy of University of Tasmania
Area: Tasmania Australia
Researchers will today announce that a vaccine is capable of protecting at least some Tasmanian devils from the plague driving the species towards extinction. Since the late 1990's Tasmanian devils have been threatened with extinction after a contagious form of face cancer pushed the cranky creatures onto the endangered species list. Now it is believed University of Tasmania researchers have successfully immunised a devil against the devil facial tumour disease (DFTD). Hopes of this breakthrough, involving a single devil named Cedric, were first revealed in The Australian on March 31, but researchers were waiting until Cedric remained disease-free past the normal six-month incubation period for DFTD - and that moment has now arrived.
Greg Woods, associate professor of cancer and immunology at the university's Menzies Research Centre, said: "This development does not represent a cure, but it is one of the most significant scientific outcomes since the contagious cancer was first recorded. "We can now conclude that it is possible to make some devils resistant to DFTD by vaccinating them." The chief hope is in Tasmania's west, from where Cedric was taken and where some devils are genetically distinct from devils in the east. Eastern Tasmania is hardest hit by DFTD, which is yet to spread to the far west of the state.
Wildlife vaccination drive in West Bengal to prevent anthrax outbreak
Thaindian News - www.thaindian.com
02 Jun 2008
Area: Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary, West Bengal India
Amid fears of anthrax spreading in West Bengal, the state forest department Monday said a vaccination drive had begun and wildlife was being closely monitored to prevent an outbreak of the disease. Anthrax is a bacterial disease that mostly affects animals and spreads to humans through consumption of contaminated meat. “We are carrying out continuous screening of all elephants in north Bengal. This apart, we are keeping an eye on the local cattle and other wild animals, creating a safety belt in the forests,” West Bengal Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) S.S. Bist told IANS. Around 7,000 anthrax vaccines have already reached the Jaldapara Wild Life Sanctuary, where a vaccination programme began last week.
Reported Wildlife Mortality Events to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center UpdatedUSGS National Wildlife Health Center
02 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 May 30, 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.
Unravelling The Mystery Of The Kitty Litter Parasite In Marine Mammals
ScienceDaily - www.sciencedaily.com (Source: American Society for Microbiology)
02 Jun 2008
Researchers at California Polytechnic State University have discovered what may be a clue to the mystery of why marine mammals around the world are succumbing to a parasite that is typically only associated with cats. The key may just be the lowly anchovy, according to research presented today at the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Boston. Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite which causes toxoplasmosis, considered to be the third leading cause of death attributed to foodborne illness in the United States. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that over 20% of the U.S. population carries the parasite, the only known reservoir of the infectious form of the parasite (the oocyst) are cats.
Over the past decade, toxoplasma infection has appeared in a variety of sea mammals including beluga whales, dolphins, sea lions and seals. It has also become a major cause of death in sea otters living off the coast of California. It is estimated that approximately 17% of sea otter deaths can be attributed to toxoplasma. While many believe fresh water runoff contaminated with cat feces is to blame, there is no definitive science on the source of infection. "The question that drives our research is how are marine mammals from the Arctic Circle to Australia infected by a parasite that is spread primarily through the consumption of infectious cat feces and infected meat?
OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of Finding Dulcinea
76th Annual General Session of the International Committee of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)- State outlines plans for combatting spread of brucellosis
- Common Missouri Bat Joins List of Global Warming Victims
- Rabies-Infected Raccoon Found in East Ridge - Map It
- Wildlife facing overseas invasion
- Estrogen Endangers Fish Populations
- Last flight of the honeybee?
WILDLIFE HEATH RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Endangered Species Bulletin - Spring Issue
The Year of the Frog [includes section Evaluating Amphibian Abnormalities on Wildlife Refuges][free-full text available]
Avian influenza in birds and animals
Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 2008 May 14 [Epub Ahead of Print][online abstract only]
CJ Cardonaa et al.
Causes of death in the Kasekela chimpanzees of Gombe National Park, Tanzania
American Journal of Primatology 2008 May 27. [Epub ahead of print][online abstract only]
JM Williams et al.
The effects of annual widespread badger culls on cattle tuberculosis following the cessation of culling
International journal of infectious diseases. 2008 May 23. [Epub ahead of print][online abstract only]
HE Jenkins et al.
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