TOP STORIES

Crocodile bonfire in South Africa
Telegraph - www.telegraph.co.uk
17 Sep 2008
J Salter
Image courtesy of BIGPICTURESPHOTO.COM
Area: Kruger National Park, South Africa - Map It

Wildlife experts have built a giant bonfire of dead crocodiles in an attempt to prevent the spread of a disease that is threatening a colony in South Africa.

More than 150 crocodiles have died in three months from a illness that has puzzled wildlife park attendants and scientists. Pansteatitis disease creates a lack of vitamin C that leads to a hardening of body fat, preventing the animals from swimming and hunting. The crocodiles then die either from starvation or drowning. Scientists have not been able to pinpoint the cause of the disease but believe it is spreading because healthy crocodiles are eating the dead ones. Scientists have not been able to pinpoint the cause of the disease but believe it is spreading because healthy crocodiles are eating the dead ones.

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Low Pathogenic Virus No Cause For Concern
Voxy.co.nz - www.voxy.co.nz
17 Sep 2008
Area: New Zealand - Map It

A surveillance programme researching the presence of avian influenza in New Zealand has found low pathogenic (LPAI) H5N1 virus in two samples taken from mallard ducks. Tests indicate that the virus is closely related to viruses found in the past and has been here for some time. LPAI H5N1 is different to 'bird flu', which is the high pathogenic (HPAI) form of the virus. The samples were taken from healthy birds and there have been no reported bird deaths or disease in the area since the samples were collected, says Team Manager, Animal Response, Dr Andre van Halderen.

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>>>Togo: Recent bird flu outbreak is deadly H5N1
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>>>Highly pathogenic avian influenza, Laos - Archive No. 20080916.2895

Bac Lieu: birds die on massive scale, sanctuary closed
VietNamNet Bridge - english.vietnamnet.vn
16 Sep 2008
Area: Bac Lieu Sanctuary, Bac Leiu Province, Vietnam - Map It

A lot of birds have died in the Bac Lieu Sanctuary in Nha Mat ward, Bac Lieu town, Bac Lieu province the past week, said officials of the local Veterinary Department on September 15.

An official of the sanctuary said some days they see nearly 30 birds die in the sanctuary and the reason has not been determined yet. Most of the dead birds are cormorants. Veterinarian workers have sprayed decontaminants in the sanctuary. Dead birds have been tested but tests are negative for the bird flu virus. As the number of dead birds hasn’t decreased, the sanctuary has been closed.

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Climate-linked disease injures Alaska's salmon
Baltimore Sun - www.baltimoresun.com (Source: Los Angeles Times)
14 Sep 2008
KR Weiss
Area: Yukon River, Alaska - Map It

With a sickening thud, another hefty and handsome salmon lands in the waste barrel, headed for the dogs. "See, it's all of the biggest, best-looking fish," said Pat Moore. "It breaks my heart. My dogs cannot eat all that. The maggots will get them first." More Alaskan salmon caught here end up in the dog pot these days, their orange-pink flesh fouled by disease that scientists have correlated with warmer water in the Yukon River. With global warming, cold-temperature barriers are giving way, allowing parasites, bacteria and other disease-spreading organisms to move toward higher latitudes.

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Israel no longer Land of Milk and Honey after 60% fall in honey harvest
Telegraph - www.telegraph.co.uk
16 Sep 2008
T Butcher
Area: Israel - Map It

. . . Apiarists across Israel are reporting honey harvest levels well below half the norm following poor winter and spring rains. The poor rainfall meant there were fewer nectar-bearing flowers available for the bees. The bad weather has compounded already reduced levels of honey production caused by the mysterious global phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) where hives across the world have suddenly been deserted. Israel has suffered its fair share of CCD incidents and local scientists have identified a virus spread by a parasitic mite that could be the cause of CCD. This has yet to be confirmed.

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OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Image courtesy of BBC News

• Pictured: Seabird chicks 'killed over food'
• USGS to Host Congressional Briefing on Climate Change and Invasive Species
• Positive results for abalone industry
• Whale had lung problems, parasites, scientist says - Map It
• State finds no more bovine TB in Shiawassee County, lifts 'potential high-risk area' designation
• Wildlife official says oil from Ike fouling refuge
• New animal health school researches disease
• Crows make monkeys out of chimps in mental test
  

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Avian Pathology
Volume 37, Issue 5
Articles of note

• Occurrence of mycoplasmas in semen samples of birds of prey
• Prevalence of avian influenza viruses, Borrelia garinii, Mycobacterium avium, and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in waterfowl and terrestrial birds in Slovakia, 2006
• An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in a collection of Stone curlews (Burhinus oedicnemus) in Dubai

>>> Table of contents

Early impact of West Nile virus on the Yellow-billed magpie (Pica nuttalli)
Auk. 2008 Jul; 125(3):542–550 [online abstract only]
SP Crosbie et al.

Development of Multiplex PCR-Ligase Detection Reaction Assay for Detection of West Nile Virus
Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 2008 Jul; 46(7): 2269-2279 [online abstract only]
S. Rondini et al.