Wildlife Disease News Digest

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World's oceans could become "soupy swill": expert
Victoria Times Columnist - www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis
13 Sep 2008
E O'Connor
Area: British Columbia, Canada

B.C. not immune to algae bloom outbreaks

. . . The Saltspring incident is a local example of a global crisis in the Earth's lakes and oceans. Our seas are suffocating under a layer of slime. That slime - algae feasting on pollutants and fertilizers and starving the ocean of oxygen - is growing rapaciously and killing off sea life at an alarming rate. These toxic "dead zones" have been spreading up the Pacific Northwest coast.

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Bird Flu timebomb
Geelong Advertiser - www.geelongadvertiser.com.au
12 Sep 2008
J McNamara
Area: Australia

There is a high probability that bird flu will eventually reach Australia, according to a Deakin University expert. Deakin University environmental science expert Dr Rohan Clarke said given that avian influenza was prevalent in Indonesia, which has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any part of the world, and its proximity to Australia, there was a high likelihood it would eventually be detected here. Dr Clarke has been involved in a study of migratory birds moving from South-East Asia and Papua New Guinea to northern Australia, with the aim of tracking how disease spreads. He has made several trips to the Torres Strait to take samples from birds and study their migration patterns.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

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Deerslayer: Virus more vicious this year than in past
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin - www.union-bulletin.com
12 Sep 2008
D Davis
Area: Washington, USA - Map It

Reports of deer dying in large numbers, in the Snake River drainage, as a result of bluetongue, have proven to be accurate. One report said a bow hunter counted 10 dead deer in one field. Another reported four dead animals in one area. Mike Johnson, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife enforcement officer, said such numbers may be accurate. "This occurs every year, but it hasn't been this bad in seven or eight years," he said.

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Crow with West Nile virus found in Port Hope
Northumberland Today - www.northumberlandtoday.com
14 Sep 2008
M Martin
Area: Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada - Map It

For the first time this year, West Nile virus has been detected in Northumberland County. Lab results received late Sept. 12 by the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit confirm a dead crow picked up in Port Hope is positive for West Nile virus. The bird was picked up earlier last week in the eastern section of town. “The risk of infected mosquitoes spreading the West Nile virus to humans is with us right until the first heavy frost,” notes Anne Alexander, the Director of Environmental Health with the HKPR District Health Unit. “That’s why we cannot let our guard down. We still need to fight the bite of mosquitoes.”

>>>FULL ARTICLE

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Whale washes ashore on Jupiter Island
TCPalm - www.tcpalm.com
J Crankshaw
Area: Jupiter Island, Martin County, Florida, USA - Map It

A small, dead whale weighing about 350 pounds washed ashore here near the Jupiter Island Club on Friday morning shortly before noon. Workers from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce recovered the eight- to nine-foot whale and took it back to Fort Pierce for a necropsy. The whale was seen by employees of the Jupiter Island Club and an employee from Cooke Electric of Stuart. The whale washed ashore south of the beach club and then washed out to sea again.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Image courtesy of BBC News