Wildlife Disease News Digest

TOP STORIES

Cure For Honey Bee Colony Collapse?
ScienceDaily - www.sciencedaily.com (Source: Wiley - Blackwell via AlphaGalileo)
14 Apr 2009
Photo credit: iStockphoto/Kamilla Mathisen
Area: Spain

For the first time, scientists have isolated the parasite Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) from professional apiaries suffering from honey bee colony depopulation syndrome. They then went on to treat the infection with complete success.

In a study published in the new journal from the Society for Applied Microbiology: Environmental Microbiology Reports, scientists from Spain analysed two apiaries and found evidence of honey bee colony depopulation syndrome (also known as colony collapse disorder in the USA). They found no evidence of any other cause of the disease (such as the Varroa destructor, IAPV or pesticides), other than infection with Nosema ceranae.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article
>>>Honeybee colony collapse due to Nosema ceranae in professional apiaries. Environmental Microbiology Reports, 2009; 1 (2): 110.

Buffalo Warrior Documentary
Vimeo - vimeo.com (Source: Aquavision TV Productions)
B Harvey
01 Apr 2009
Photo credit: Mabulu News
Area: Kruger Park, South Africa

A few sequences of the documentary Buffalo Warrior I edited.
This programme was delivered to National Geographic and Animal Planet on High Def and broadcast internationally.

Its about a conservation warrior (Lindsay Hunt) who is fighting to keep the Kruger Park (South Africa) Buffalo population alive as they are dying from TB. A disease that is airborne.

The most endearing part is that Lindsay used to hunt buffalo himself but after one particular day he decided to put down his rifle and save the population instead.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Oil Spill Surface Cleanup Ignores Fish Below
Discovery News - dsc.discovery.com
10 Apr 2009
E Sohn

Birds are the most high-profile victims of oceanic oil spills, but fish suffer from these messy accidents, too. Even worse, a new study suggests, the chemicals commonly used to clean up oil spills make oil far more toxic to fish, particularly for eggs and young fish.

Scientists already debate about how best to clean up spills. The new work makes those decisions even more complicated and controversial.

"While you can see the risk on the surface, appreciating risk under the surface is much more difficult," said Peter Hodson, a fish toxicologist at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Protein linked to wasting disease found in elk antler velvet
Edmonton Journal - www.edmontonjournal.com
04 Apr 2009
H Brooymans
Photo credit: Bruce Edwards/Edmonton Journal
Area: Canada

New research shows that protein associated with chronic wasting disease can be found in antler velvet, a substance used to make nutritional supplements. . . . The discovery of prions in antler velvet of CWD-affected elk suggests that this tissue may play a role in disease transmission among members of the deer family, including elk, said the study, which will be published in the May issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal.

"Humans who consume antler velvet as a nutritional supplement are at risk for exposure to prions," the study said.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency collaborated on the study with scientists from the University of Kentucky Medical Center, Colorado State University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article
>>>Chronic Wasting Disease Prions in Elk Antler Velvet. Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 May; [Epub ahead of print].

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH NEWS
Photo credit: Discovery News