February 14, 2012

Today's Wildlife Disease News Stories

TOP STORIES

Tests confirm bird flu not behind pigeon deaths

Clinical tests on dead pigeons in this hill town have shown that the mysterious bird deaths were not due to avian flu. A veterinary department official said that the authorities have given the "all-clear signal" and there is no reason for people to panic.

D Lyngwa, Meghalaya's animal husbandry and veterinary director, said: "The blood samples of the pigeons which were sent for tests at Assam-based Regional Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (RRDL) have come out negative for bird flu".

As the precise reason for the unusual death of the pigeons is not known, further tests will be conducted to find out the real cause. "More tests would take place to confirm the exact cause of deaths of the pigeons and the results are due next week," Lyngwa said.

The Times of India - articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
12 Feb 2012
Location: Shillong, India - Map It


>>> FULL ARTICLE


Deadly virus hits turtles, tadpoles in Montgomery County [Ranavirus]

Maryland biologists study­ing box turtles rescued from the bulldozers on the Intercounty Connector construction site have made a grisly find: An alarming number of the tiny turtles later died, and biologists say their demise appears to be unrelated to the highway.

Worse yet, the cause of their death — an animal disease called ranavirus taking root across the United States — also is believed to have killed nearly every tadpole and young salamander in the study area in Montgomery County’s North Branch Stream Valley Park since spring 2010.

The discoveries have alarmed state wildlife officials and biologists, who worry about how far ranavirus has spread, how widely it has affected the ecosystem, and how it apparently jumped between turtles — which are reptiles — and amphibians. If the virus spreads or goes unchecked for long, wildlife experts say, it could devastate some local populations of box turtles, frogs and salamanders. That loss, biologists say, would ripple along the food chain to other animals.

Washington Post - www.washingtonpost.com
12 Feb 2012
K Shaver
Picture courtesy of The Washington Post
Location: North Branch Stream Valley Park, Maryland, USA - Map It



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