November 18, 2008

TOP STORIES

Low Concentrations Of Pesticides Can Become Toxic Mixture For Amphibians
ScienceDaily - www.sciencedaily.com (Source: University of Pittsburgh)
17 Nov 2008
Image courtesy of iStockphoto/Rob Sylvan
Area: United States

Ten of the world's most popular pesticides can decimate amphibian populations when mixed together even if the concentration of the individual chemicals are within limits considered safe, according to University of Pittsburgh research. Such “cocktails of contaminants” are frequently detected in nature, a new paper notes, and the Pitt findings offer the first illustration of how a large mixture of pesticides can adversely affect the environment. Study author Rick Relyea, an associate professor of biological sciences in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences, exposed gray tree frog and leopard frog tadpoles to small amounts of the 10 pesticides that are widely used throughout the world.




Dumped rubbish killing elephants in Botswana
The Australian - www.theaustralian.news.com.au (Source: AAP)
17 Nov 2008
M Gaotlhobogwe
Area: Chobe district, Botswana - Map It

Elephants and other animals are dying as they feed off rubbish dumped by humans encroaching on their land. Four elephants died recently after feeding at a landfill site built in Botswana's second biggest national park. The elephants are among scores of animals whose deaths have been blamed on the dumping site. "I can say we had over 150 deaths of various animal species as a result of feeding at the dumping site,'' said wildlife warden Thunya Sedododma.




Tiny Radio Tags Offer Rare Glimpse into Bees' Universe
National Geographic News - news.nationalgeographic.com
14 Nov 2008
Area: United States

. . . Wikelski is pioneering the use of supersmall radio tracking tags that fit on the backs of bees, a technological breakthrough that may provide him and other scientists with a direct view of the pollinators' flight patterns. This could someday help them understand what's causing the honeybees' decline—and how to harness other kinds of bees to protect food supplies. Until now, tracking insects such as bees has proved difficult. They fly too far too fast to be chased on the ground, and they're too small and nimble to monitor from the air.




Yellow fever - South America (32): Brazil (RGS), monkeys - Archive Number 20081113.3577
ProMED-mail - www.promedmail.org
04 Nov 2008
Area: Tres Passos - Map It and Tiradentes do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil - Map It

On 24 Oct 2008, the Secretariat of Health Surveillance (SVS) of the Ministry of Health (MoH) received notification of deaths of primates of the genus _Alouatta sp._, [howler monkeys] in the municipalities of Tres Passos and Tiradentes do Sul in the northwestern part of Rio Grande do Sul state. The deaths of the animals occurred, respectively, on 30 Sep 2008, in the district of Santo Antonio and the municipality of Tres Passos, and on 15 Oct 2008 in a place called Alto Cacador in the municipality of Tiradentes do Sul. This region is on the border with Argentina, where circulation of yellow fever [YF] virus was recently confirmed in the province of El Soberbio [see ProMED archive no. 20081023.3353].




Marine dead zones set to expand rapidly
Nature News - www.nature.com
14 Nov 2008
Q Schiermeier
Image courtesy of IFM-GEOMAR

Rising levels of carbon dioxide could increase the volume of oxygen-depleted 'dead zones' in tropical oceans by as much as 50% before the end of the century — with dire consequences for the health of ecosystems in some of the world's most productive fishing grounds. At depths between several tens and hundreds of metres, large parts of the tropical oceans are poorly supplied with dissolved oxygen, and are therefore hostile to most marine life. Scientists suspect that these zones are sensitive to climate change, but previous studies have arrived at conflicting conclusions regarding exactly how and why a more CO2-rich world affects oceanic oxygen content.




Bushmeat brings disease from African jungles
McGill Daily - www.mcgilldaily.com
17 Nov 2008
L Waterman

. . . In addition to the possibility of a disease spreading in Africa before spreading around the world, is the possibility of an initial outbreak elsewhere. Bushmeat is also popular outside of Africa, and as a result the trade is globalized. According to the BBC, in 2002 up to 10 tons of bushmeat arrived in London daily. Because the trade is illegal, accurate figures are difficult to obtain. According to Justin Brashares, a professor of wildlife ecology at the University of California, Berkeley, the U.S. likely sees a similar amount of Bushmeat as London.




National HPAI Early Detection Data System (HEDDS) Update
NBII Wildlife Disease Information Node
17 Nov 2008
Area: United States

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Early Detection Data System (HEDDS) is an avian influenza data sharing repository. NBII and a network of partners across the nation have created HEDDS to hold data from different surveillance strategies and to provide a comprehensive view of national sampling efforts.

Recent HEDDS Activity
  • Nov 17, 2008: The LPAI H5N1 results table has been updated with information on samples collected on Nov 3, 2008 from a Mallard in Saline county, MO.
  • Nov 17, 2008: The LPAI H5N1 results table has been updated with information on samples collected on Nov 1, 2008 from a Northern pintail in Butte county, CA.
  • Nov 14, 2008: 616 samples and tests were added to HEDDS for 2008. Total is now 60,199.



OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Image courtesy of Discovery News - dsc.discovery.com




WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Evolution and Differentiation of the Prion Protein Gene (PRNP) among
Species
Journal of Heredity. 2008 Nov-Dec; 99 (6): 647-652 [online abstract only]
RY Zhou et al.

Pathogenicity of Chinese H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in
pigeons
Archives of Virology. Oct 2008; 153 (10): 1821-1826 [online abstract only]
BB Jia et al.

Animal influenza epidemiology
Vaccine. 2008 Sep 12; 26 (Suppl 4): D67-D69 [online abstract only]
MF Ducatez et al.

Pathogenicity of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in mammals
Vaccine. 2008 Sep 12; 26 (Suppl 4): D54-D58 [online abstract only]
E de Wit et al.

at Tuesday, November 18, 2008

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