Wildlife Disease News Digest

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White-nose syndrome plagues bat population in Northeast
The New-Times - www.newstimes.com
20 Jul 2008
R Miller
Area: United States

. . . But David Blehert, a microbiologist with the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis. -- part of the United States Geological Survey -- said that generally, fungal disease are opportunistic infections that crop up when an organism is too weak to fight them off. "They're usually not fatal," he said. "Athlete's foot is a fungal disease." So Blehert said researchers believe something else is sickening the bats. In their weakened state, the white fungus sets in. Along with not knowing what's causing the disease, biologists also don't know whether bat colonies will rebound. "We've seen it in the winter of 2006-07 and the winter of 2007-08," Blehert said. "We don't know what will happen in the winter of 2008-09." The outbreak of the syndrome has crossed path with Krukar's study of Indiana bats.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

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>>>Bats dying off across western Maine - Maine, USA - Map It

Researchers Study Immune System In Amphibians
RedOrbit - www.redorbit.com
19 Jul 2008
Image courtesy of Maciej Pabijan/Jagiellonian University Krakow

Researchers unravel complexity of the major histocompatibility complex in tailed amphibians

Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) genes produce proteins that are crucial in fighting pathogen assault. Researchers from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) characterized genetic variation and detected more than one MHC class II locus in a tailed amphibian. Unlike mammals, not much has been known until now about the immune defense of amphibians. Globally, amphibian populations are in an unprecedented decline, to a considerable extent caused by rapidly spreading infectious diseases, such as the fungal infection Chytridiomycosis.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article
>>>Contrasting patterns of variation in MHC loci in the Alpine newt. Mol Ecol. 2008 May; 17(10): 2339-55.

Dead Baby Penguins Wash Ashore by the Hundreds
Discovery News - dsc.discovery.com (Source: Associated Press)
M Astor
Image courtesy of Associated Press
Area: Rio de Janeiro Brazil - Map It

Hundreds of baby penguins swept from the icy shores of Antarctica and Patagonia are washing up dead on Rio de Janeiro's tropical beaches, rescuers and penguin experts said Friday. More than 400 penguins, most of them young, have been found dead on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro state over the past two months, according to Eduardo Pimenta, superintendent for the state coastal protection and environment agency in the resort city of Cabo Frio. While it is common here to find some penguins -- both dead and alive -- swept by strong ocean currents from the Strait of Magellan, Pimenta said there have been more this year than at any time in recent memory. Rescuers and those who treat penguins are divided over the possible causes.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

DEC Investigating Fish And Mudpuppy Die-Off On Lake Erie Shore [Press Release]
ReadMediaNews - readme.readmedia.com (Source: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation)
18 Jul 2008
Area: Lake Erie, New York United States - Map It

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is investigating the deaths of mudpuppies and fish washing up on the shore of Lake Erie. Mudpuppies, an aquatic salamander, along with smallmouth bass, catfish and sheephead are among the species that have been found dead at locations including Point Gratiot, Sunset Bay, Evangola State Park, and Sturgeon Point. The mudpuppy and fish die-offs can be caused by a number of factors, such as water temperature changes or various diseases. DEC has collected a mudpuppy sample and has sent it to a lab for analysis and to potentially determine a cause of death.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Reported Wildlife Mortality Events to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center Updated
USGS National Wildlife Health Center
20 Jul 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 July 18, 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

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
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