TOP STORIES

State to test dead ducks found in Lowell for avian flu
Trading Markets.com - www.tradingmarkets.com
12 Aug 2008
Location: Lowell, Massachusetts, USA - Map It

The death of more than two dozen ducks along the Riverwalk in downtown Lowell has drawn the attention of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, which is hoping to conduct tests on a recently deceased duck.

. . . She said a Lowell National Historical Park ranger's diagnosis that the likely cause of the deaths is avian botulism, which poses no threat to humans, appears to be correct.

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Research On KNP Croc Deaths Continues
South African National Parks - www.sanparks.org
Date not provided

Included in the team that conducted the post mortem and capture operations were crocodile capture expert Hannes Botha from Mpumalanga Parks and Tourism Agency, Dr Jan Myburgh from Onderstepoort, Prof Henk Bowman from North-West University and IUCN crocodile expert Dr Fritz Huchzermeyer.

“Although we learnt a lot during the operation, we have not yet found the exact cause of the pansteatitis that has caused the deaths of so many crocodiles in this river system,” said the KNP’s head of Scientific Services, Mr Danie Pienaar.

. . . But it was the live capture of crocodiles on the nights of Sunday to Tuesday (August 3 – 5, 2008) that was of considerable interest to all concerned. The operation was a first for the game capture team of VWS and they were able to capture 11 specimens. Blood and tissue biopsy samples were taken from all these reptiles, before they were tagged with plastic markers and released back into the water.

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Mystery surrounds deaths of 15 ducks in Bayfront Park
TheSpec.com - www.thespec.com (source Hamilton Spectator)
13 Aug 2008
R De Lazzer
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada - Map It

Fifteen adult mallard ducks in Bayfront Park are dead after contracting a mystery illness.

. . .Health centre pathologist Dr. Doug Campbell said he could only speculate on a cause until test results on a sample bird are returned, which usually takes two weeks.

"Just sort of playing the odds, one of the common things that we see in Ontario in the summertime, particularly with water birds, is botulism," he said.

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Avian trichomoniasis affecting pigeons, doves
RGJ.com - news.rgj.com
13 Aug 2008
C Montgomery
Location: Washoe, Nevada, USA - Map It

Birdwatchers in the Reno-Sparks area should be aware of a recent outbreak affecting doves and pigeons in backyards and near birdfeeders.

During a week last month, the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), the Nevada Department of Agriculture and the Washoe County Health Department Vector-borne Diseases Program had received reports of at least 20 dead and dying doves and pigeons in the Reno area.

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Vultures, drugs and rabies [blog entry]
Disease Ecology - eemb40.blogspot.com
09 Aug 2008

Over the last few years you may have heard stories about the decline of vultures in India. Population declines of over 95% were observed and some species may go extinct. One reason the press picked up on this around 2004 was the implication for the Indian Zoroastrian Parsi community, who traditionally use vultures to dispose of human corpses in "sky burials".

Eventually it was worked out that the vultures were dying because of a drug, diclofenac, commonly used in livestock. Vultures fed on livestock, ingested the drug, and died.

Now a new study, published in Ecological Economics this week, suggests that this loss of vultures may have led to an additional 50,000 rabies deaths in India. As the vulture numbers declined so the number of feral dogs increased. India has one of the world's highest incidences of rabies. and some of these dogs would have been infected with rabies.

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Cited Articles

Diclofenac residues as the cause of vulture population decline in Pakistan. Nature 2004 - JL Oaks et al [no online abstract available]

Counting the cost of vulture decline—An appraisal of the human health and other benefits of vultures in India - Ecological Economics. 2008 - A Markandya et al [online abstract only]

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of EarthNews

• County considering rabies vaccine drop
• Inventory of Great Smokies turns up nearly 1,000 new species
• Tagged Elephant Seals Survey Antarctic Waters
• New Issue For Wallingford Gun Range: Lead In Water
• Fish restrictions aim to halt spread of deadly virus

Prion Disease News

• Investigation Of Prion Folding On Cell Membranes
• Wildlife disease debate: To act or to react? : Wyoming only monitors spread of chronic wasting disease while some call for action

Avian Influenza News

• Pandemic Potential Of H9N2 Avian Influenza Viruses
• Indonesia justifies no sample sharing but gets little joy from Baxter
• Scientists make breakthrough with avian influenza

West Nile Virus News

• West Nile-infected bird cases still rising - California, USA - Map It
• Dead bird tests positive for West Nile – Cummaquid, Massachusetts, USA - Map It

Amphibian Disease News

• Dying frogs sign of a biodiversity crisis
• "Perfect Storm" Killing Earth's Frogs [inlcudes video]

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Modeling and analysis of global epidemiology of avian influenza
Environmental Modelling & Software. 2008; ePub ahead of print
DM Rao et al.