Wildlife Disease News Digest

TOP STORIES

Time Running Out On Coral Reefs As Climate Change Becomes Increasing Threat
ScienceDaily - www.sciencedaily.com (Source: The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network)
15 Dec 2008
Photo credit: iStockphoto

. . . "Unless the world gets serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the next few years, it is likely there will be massive bleaching and deaths of corals around the world," notes the report's lead editor and global coral authority Clive Wilkinson who coordinates the Global Coral Monitoring Network in Australia. "This will have significant impacts on the lives of the people in developing countries who are dependent on reefs for food, for tourism, and for protecting the land they live on." This status report was put together from 370 contributors in 96 countries and states and is the most authoritative report on the world's coral reefs. The report presents regional assessments of the health coral reef ecosystems found throughout the world, the threats they face, and recommendations for action.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Lead poisoning hits home
Grand Forks Herald - www.grandforksherald.com
13 Dec 2008
B Dokken
Area: Minnesota, United States

. . . As they do every year at this time, officials at the Raptor Center have seen an influx of eagles with lead poisoning since mid-November. According to Dr. Luis Cruz-Martinez, a veterinary resident at the Raptor Center, the facility as of Wednesday had received 74 bald eagles this year. Of those eagles, 23 tested positive for lead. There were three positive cases in January, one in February and one in March. The remaining 18, he said, have come in since Nov. 10 — two days after Minnesota’s firearms deer season opener. “We get these two big peaks in November through January, and then it goes down toward spring and really declines into summer,” Cruz-Martinez said. “Then all of a sudden, hunting season — and all of those birds are lead-poisoned eagles.”

>>>FULL ARTICLE

USGS Science Picks: November/December 2008
USGS Newsroom - www.usgs.gov
12 Dec 2008

Wildlife Related Highlights

Reversing Coral Reef Decline in Hawaii
Pavement Sealcoat Linked to U.S. Lake Contamination
Human Footprint in Western U.S.: Impact to Wildlife and Plants
How Many Grizzlies in Glacier National Park?
Understanding the Level of Protection for Alaskan Species

>>>FULL ARTICLE

National HPAI Early Detection Data System (HEDDS) Update
NBII Wildlife Disease Information Node
15 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 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.
Dec 12, 2008: 587 samples and tests were added to HEDDS for 2008. Total is now 69,929.
Dec 12, 2008: 4,583 samples and tests were added to HEDDS for 2008. Total is now 69,342.

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

Yellow fever - South America (33): Brazil (RGS), monkey - Archive Number 20081210.3880
ProMED-mail - www.promedmail.org
10 Dec 2008
Area: Coronel Barros, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil - Map It

The Institute Evandro Chagas in Belem (Para state), confirmed [in Porto Alegre, RS] on Tuesday [9 Nov 2008] that the cause of death of mantled howler monkeys [_Alouatta palliata_] found about 10 days ago at Coronel Barros, in north western Rio Grande do Sul state, was yellow fever [YF virus]. The 17th Regional Health Coordination unit, established in Ijui, is intensifying vaccination of residents of 11 municipalities in the region. According to the person responsible for the 17th Regional Health Coordination unit, Erlon Beck, "We always start vaccinating in that town when we find dead animals. With the confirmation of the cause of death by yellow fever of mantled howler monkeys, we are increasing the immunization of people for the neighboring counties also," said Beck.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: Daily Mail/EPA - www.dailymail.co.uk