Wildlife Disease News Digest

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Extreme Weather Events Can Unleash A 'Perfect Storm' Of Infectious Diseases, Research Study Says
Science Daily – www.sciencedaily.com
25 Jun 2008

An international research team, including University of Minnesota researcher Craig Packer, has found the first clear example of how climate extremes, such as the increased frequency of droughts and floods expected with global warming, can create conditions in which diseases that are tolerated individually may converge and cause mass die-offs of livestock or wildlife.

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Cited Article

Climate Extremes Promote Fatal Co-Infections during Canine Distemper Epidemics in African Lions. 2008 PLoS One; 3(6): e2545.

Diversity Among Bird Populations Found To Reduce Threat Of West Nile Virus
Science Daily – www.sciencedaily.com
25 Jun 2008

A biologist and undergraduate student have discovered that what's good for an area's bird population is also good for people living nearby.

The research, by John P. Swaddle and Stavros E. Calos, published June 25 in the online peer-reviewed journal PLoS One, indicates that areas which have a more diverse bird population (biodiversity) show much lower incidences of West Nile virus infection in the human population. West Nile develops rapidly in bird populations, and then can be passed to humans or other animals through a vector mechanism, often a mosquito.

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Cited Article

Increased Avian Diversity Is Associated with Lower Incidence of Human West Nile Infection: Observation of the Dilution Effect. PloS One. 2008; 3(6): e2488

Stranded Keys Whale Had Meningitis: Tests Showed Multiple Organs Had Been Infected
CBSTV – cbs4.com
25 Jun 2008
Photo courtesy of CBSTV
Location - Islamorada, Florida, USA - Map It

A rare beaked whale that stranded itself off the Florida Keys had Meningitis. An intensive necropsy performed by the Marine Mammal Conservancy found evidence of infection in multiple organs and that the whales' liver had a heavy parasitic infestation.

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To Find Out What's Eating Bats, Biologist Takes To Barn Rooftops
Science Daily – www.sciencedaily.com
25 Jun 2008
Photo courtesy of Science Daily

Bloodsucking pests like bat fleas and bat flies may not sound very appealing to the rest of us, but to University at Buffalo biologist Katharina Dittmar de la Cruz, Ph.D., they are among the most successful creatures evolution has ever produced.

. . .By providing a clearer picture of how these potential disease vectors adapt to bats, her research may shed light on White Nose Syndrome, which has killed tens of thousands of bats in the northeastern U.S. and which some feel may parallel the Colony Collapse Disorder that has devastated honey bee colonies in recent years.

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H5N1 virus resurfaces in Pakistan

Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (CIDRAP) - www.cidrap.umn.edu
23 Jun 2008
L Schnirring
Location: Swabi, North-West Frontier, Pakistan - Map It

A livestock official in Pakistan today confirmed that the H5N1 avian influenza virus has struck again in the country's North-West Frontier province, killing thousands of chickens at a commercial farm.

. . . Kahn told AFP that the farm's owner notified authorities on Jun 20 about the suspicious deaths of about 4,000 birds. After a laboratory confirmed the H5N1 virus in samples from the birds the next day, authorities sealed the farm and destroyed about 2,000 birds, he said.
Pakistan's health ministry examined workers on the farm, but none appear to be infected with the virus, Kahn told AFP.

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More Avian Influenza News

Tempest on a Tabletop - State and federal agencies prepare for HPAI in Alaska

Faster Diagnostics for Bird Flu on the Horizon

Scientists Create Avian Flu Vaccine with Monkey Cells

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of National Geographic News