Wildlife Disease News Digest

TOP STORIES

Might Migrating Birds Have Infected The Svalbard Arctic Fox With Parasites?
ScienceDaily - www.sciencedaily.com (Source: Norwegian School of Veterinary Science)
22 Dec 2008
Photo credit: Kristin W. Prestrud

. . . Kristin Wear Prestrud showed in her doctoral thesis that migratory birds are a probable source of infection for the parasite Toxoplasma gondii on Svalbard (the Spitsbergen archipelago), which has then infected the Arctic fox population, among other animals. The parasite can infect all animals and birds, including man, and normally produces few symptoms. It may, however, lead to the disease of toxoplasmosis, and over the years several Arctic foxes have been found dead from this infection on Svalbard. In her thesis, Prestrud described migrating birds as a possible route of infection of Toxoplasma in the Arctic fox population on Svalbard. Genetic analyses showed that the parasite on Svalbard is identical to the most common Toxoplasma strains one finds in Europe, which supports the idea of a European source of infection on Svalbard.

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Chronic Wasting Disease Found in Five Deer in Hampshire County
Huntington News - www.huntingtonnews.net
23 Dec 2008
Area: Hampshire County, West Virginia, USA - Map It

Preliminary test results indicate the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) agent was present in five hunter-harvested deer collected in Hampshire County during the 2008 deer firearms hunting season. “As part of our agency’s ongoing and intensive CWD monitoring effort, samples were collected from 1,355 hunter-harvested deer brought to game checking stations in Hampshire County and one station near the southern Hampshire County line in Hardy County,” noted Frank Jezioro, director for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR). The five CWD positive deer included one 4.5 year-old doe, two 2.5 year-old bucks, one 4.5 year-old buck and one 1.5 year-old buck. All five of the latest positive deer were harvested within the Hampshire County CWD Containment Area (i.e., that portion of Hampshire County located North of U.S. Route 50).

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New tapeworm found in Great Lakes fish
Muskegon Chronicle - www.mlive.com/chronicle
22 Dec 2008
J Alexander
Photo credit: www.sci.sdsu.edu
Area: Michigan, United States - Map It

An outbreak of tapeworms in Lake Huron walleye has Michigan officials urging people to avoid eating sushi made with freshwater fish caught in the Great Lakes region. The warning came as a Canadian researcher reported the first documented case of Asian fish tapeworms in Great Lakes fish. David Marcogliese, a research scientist at Environment Canada's research station in Montreal, reported the discovery of Asian tapeworms in Lake Huron walleye in the most recent issue of the Journal of Great Lakes Research. The foreign tapeworm, the 186th invasive species documented in the Great Lakes, likely was imported to the region with infected bait fish, Marcogliese said in the article.

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National HPAI Early Detection Data System (HEDDS) Update
NBII Wildlife Disease Information Node
23 Dec 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

Dec 19, 2008: The LPAI H5N1 results table has been updated with information on samples collected on Nov 21, 2008 from a Mallard in Wabasha county, MN.
Dec 17, 2008: 3,953 samples and tests were added to HEDDS for 2008. Total is now 73,882.
Dec 15, 2008: The LPAI H5N1 results table has been updated with information on samples collected on Dec 11, 2008 from a Mallard in Barton county, KS.

>>>HEDDS' LPAI H5N1 Results Table
>>>For more about HEDDS

OTHER WILDLIFE RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: Guardian - www.guardian.co.uk