Wildlife Disease News Digest

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Rapid response team investigates coral disease outbreak in Kaneohe Bay

An outbreak of a disease called Montipora White Syndrome (MWS) was found in Kaneohe Bay, Oʻahu within the last month prompting an interagency response team composed of scientists and students to document the extent, spread and potential causes of the disease.

Members of the investigative team included scientists from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), USGS National Wildlife Health Center and Bishop Museum.

Corals are the very foundation of our coral reef ecosystem and are under threat from overfishing, land-based pollution and emerging coral diseases.

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa - www.hawaii.edu/news
01 Apr 2010
Location: Kaneohe Bay, Oʻahu, Hawaii, USA - Map It

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Pneumonia continues to kill Nevada bighorn sheep

The Nevada Department of Wildlife says biologists continue to find bighorn sheep that have died of complications of pneumonia.

The department says 102 dead sheep have been found over the last four months - 74 in the East Humboldt Range and 28 in the Ruby Mountains.

Department big game biologist Caleb McAdoo says the department is concerned that as many as 80 percent of each herd may die.

KTVN News 2 - www.ktvn.com (Source: Associated Press)
01 April 2010
Location: Elko County, Nevada, USA - Map It

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Medicine Residues May Threaten Fish Reproduction, Swedish Study Finds

Researchers at Umeå University and the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have discovered that traces of many medicines can be found in fish that have been swimming in treated waste water.

One such medicine, the hormone levonorgestrel, was found in higher concentrations in the blood of fish than in women who take the contraceptive pill. Elevated levels of this hormone can lead to infertility in fish.

The study is published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

ScienceDaily - www.sciencedaily.com
05 Aug 2010

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Cited Journal Article
Therapeutic Levels of Levonorgestrel Detected in Blood Plasma of Fish: Results from Screening Rainbow Trout Exposed to Treated Sewage Effluents. Environmental Science & Technology. 2010 Mar 11; 44 (7): 2661-2666.

Anthrax, wildlife - Namibia: (Etosha Natl Park) correction

We've found 90 dead plains zebra (_Equus quagga_) in the 2 months since 1 Feb 2010 (when things started picking up).

Of 46 tested thus far, 29 were confirmed positive for _Bacillus anthracis_ by selective culture at the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) in Windhoek.

Of the 17 that tested negative, 8 were suspected to have died of anthrax based on carcass freshness, lack of coagulation, and lack of any sign of predation.

ProMED-mail - www.promedmail.org
02 Apr 2010
Location: Etosha National Park, Namibia - Map It

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OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS