Wildlife Disease News Digest

Salmonella outbreak kills birds: Fish and Game: keep feeders clean
Idaho Mountain Express and Guide - www.mtexpress.com
17 Apr 2009
D Sentilles
Location: Wood River Valley, Idaho, USA - Map It

Reports have surfaced of a small outbreak of salmonella among birds in the Wood River Valley. The affected birds are pine siskins, small creatures that are considered susceptible to salmonella.

Information on the birds' deaths first came from Jeramie Dreyfuss, a Hailey resident and bird enthusiast who said she found some 30 dead birds in her backyard. Dreyfuss sent the birds to Mark Drew, wildlife veterinarian for Idaho Fish and Game's Bureau of Wildlife, who performed an autopsy.

Drew said that the autopsy showed traces of salmonella in the birds. He did not yet know what strain of salmonella killed the birds or what caused the outbreak.

"We don't know the source," he said. "But my thoughts right now are that it's a feeder hygiene situation where there are a lot of feeders out and a lot of contaminated seed that's old and wet."

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Resources

>>> USGS National Wildlife Health - Coping with Diseases at Bird Feeders [fact sheet]

>>> Field Manual of Wildlife Disease - Book Chapter 9 - Salmonellosis [pdf]

CWD forces more than 100 elk into quarantine
The Star Phoenix - www.thestarphoenix.com
16 Apr 2009
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada - Map It

he second case this year of Chronic Wasting Disease in Saskatchewan has put an elk herd of more than 100 in quarantine.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed that a single elk suffered from the incurable disease, and then penned the entire herd, said CFIA animal health program manager Connie Argue.

Officials will eventually destroy the other elk that have been in contact with the infected specimen. . . .

This is the second confirmed case of CWD in Saskatchewan this year and the 57th case since it was first discovered in 1996.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Other prion News

>>>No CWD found in Arizona deer and elk testing

>>> Disruption Of Copper Regulation As Key To Prion Diseases

Pickford bald eagle beats West Nile virus
The Detroit News. www.detnews.com
26 Mar 2009
K Filkins

A young bald eagle, suffering from West Nile virus, was captured in August 2002 from the parking lot of a car dealership in Pickford. With a lot of help, the nearly dead eagle survived, learned to fly again, was released and flew off to make history.

"Patty," as she became known, taught biologists and rehabilitators that eagles and other birds of prey can recover from West Nile virus and survive when released to the wild and produce offspring.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Wyoming brucellosis group examines federal proposal
Billings Gazette - www.billingsgazette.net
17 Apr 2009
R Prevost

Members of the Wyoming Brucellosis Coordination Team and others met Thursday to discuss a federal proposal to declare most of the nation outside the greater Yellowstone area "brucellosis free." The group also reviewed a plan to move bison from Yellowstone National Park to a Wyoming Indian reservation.

The proposal to create a National Brucellosis Elimination Zone got a mixed reaction from committee members, with one federal manager saying that an early draft of the scheme was pulled from a U.S. Department of Agriculture Web site after being criticized as incomplete.

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Deadly Domestic Sheep Disease Threatens Endangered Sierra Nevada Bighorn
Center for Biological Diversity - www.biologicaldiveristy.org
15 Apr 2009

The Center for Biological Diversity and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility today notified the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management of their intent to file a lawsuit against the agencies for failure to adequately protect endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep from potentially deadly disease transmission. High-risk domestic sheep allotments must be closed in order to adequately protect Sierra Nevada bighorns from disease transmission that can occur when they come into contact with domestic sheep.

“The agencies must act now to address this significant threat to the endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn,” said Justin Augustine, staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. “The scientific studies conducted over the last 20 years, especially the recent Recovery Plan and associated Risk Assessment, confirm what history has already shown: that domestic sheep grazing is incompatible with long-term survival and recovery of bighorn sheep.”

>>> FULL ARTICLE

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Photo courtesy of The Guardian