December 20, 2011

Today's Wildlife Disease News Stories

TOP STORIES

Black-headed gull tests positive for H5N1 virus

A spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said today (December 19) that a Black-headed gull found in Yuen Long was confirmed to be H5N1 positive after a series of laboratory tests.

The sick wild bird was found and collected at Chiu Lut Sau Memorial Secondary School, 7 Tai Yuk Road, Yuen Long, on December 13. The bird died the next day.

The black-headed gull is a common winter visitor.

7th Space Interactive - 7thspace.com
19 Dec 2011
Source: HKSAR Government
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
Location: Sangda, China [Tibet] - Map It


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[Sick pigeons are starving to death][Translated Swedish article]
Translation disclaimer

Sick pigeons are starving to death in Malmo. In recent weeks, an average of between three and five pigeons daily found dead or dying by the Municipal Technical Services staff in Pildammsparken.

Everything indicates that the pigeons are suffering from the contagious parasitic disease gulknopp [Trichomonas gallinae].

... On Friday last week we found 21 dead, says Bo-Ake Johannesson , supervisory care workers.

Sydsvenskan - www.sydsvenskan.se
19 Dec 2011
M Anjou
Photo courtesy of ID Kristiansen/Sydsvenskan
Location: Malmo, Sweden - Map It




Congress Directs $4 Million to Fight Against Bat-killing Disease

Today the grim picture for North American bats, dying by the millions from a disease that showed up just five years ago in the Northeast and which has since cut a deadly swath from Nova Scotia to Tennessee, got a tiny bit brighter. Congress has directed the Department of Interior to allot $4 million from its 2012 endangered species recovery fund toward research and management of white-nose syndrome.

...The language in the final Interior Appropriations bill directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to fund disease research and response activities, including providing support to states involved in white-nose syndrome work. The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service are also directed to prioritize “research related to white-nose syndrome in bats and the inventory and monitoring of bat resources” on their lands. No funds are appropriated for this work, however.

In 2010 and 2011, Congress awarded the Fish and Wildlife Service a special appropriation of $1.9 million for white nose syndrome. “We’re grateful that there is an appropriation to fight white-nose syndrome and save bats, although much more than $4 million is needed to truly combat this unprecedented wildlife crisis," said Matteson. "We especially thank Senator Leahy of Vermont, who is a huge bat fan, for not forgetting what’s at stake if we lose multiple bat species.”

Center for Biological Diversity - www.biologicaldiversity.org
16 Dec 2011


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