Wildlife Disease News Digest

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Mercury in lake affecting animals
Deseret News - deseretnews.com
10 May 2008
S Speckman
Photo courtesy of National Wildlife Federation
Area: Utah United States

Scientists have learned more about elevated mercury concentrations in Great Salt Lake, and a new report by the U.S. Geological Survey shows that brine shrimp and, in particular, the eared grebes that eat them are being impacted. Exactly how much lasting damage is being done by mercury contamination will be the subject of another report due out in about nine months that will be coauthored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The new USGS report title is long: "Anthropogenic influences of the input of biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and mercury in Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA." It's published in this month's international journal "Applied Geochemistry."

The report's findings indicate that new pathways, such as sustained high winds, are in effect treating the lake like a mixing bowl, melding mercury present in the water with brine shrimp, where the mercury "bioaccumulates." Many bird species eat the shrimp, but USGS singles out grebes. The grebes molt for about three to five months around fall and don't fly as a result. While on the lake shores, they dine on the contaminated shrimp. Studies of the birds during that period have revealed an increase of mercury in their livers three times the amount found at other times of the year. "We found that the composition of isotopes found in brine shrimp change in a consistent manner over the growing season, likely reflecting a change in the type of algae that brine shrimp were eating," said Dave Naftz, the main author of the USGS report.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article
>>>Anthropogenic influences of the input of biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and mercury in Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA - Applied Geochemistry. 2008 Mar 18; [Epub ahead of print]

Investigation continues into cause of bats’ deaths
Daily Gazette - www.dailygazette.com
10 May 2008
E Munger Jr.
Area: United States

Scientists by the dozen continue to study different factors that could be causing the death of thousands of bats. The use of pesticides, the impact of climate change and unknown pathogens are all possibilities, but nothing has been ruled out, said David Blehert, head of diagnostic microbiology at the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center in Wisconsin. Following two massive die-offs discovered in Albany County caves after the winters of 2006 and 2007, wildlife officials began studying a white fungus substance on specimens both living and dead. Dubbed “white-nose syndrome,” because of the fungus, the affliction is considered an important issue both for the bats’ sake and for the role they play in the environment, Blehert said.

“It’s just unusual. That’s our job, to try to investigate causes of unusual wildlife activity,” Blehert said. “You’re not supposed to find thousands of dead bats, or, in caves that used to have 100,000 bats, find none at all.” Blehert said scientists are isolating fungi and bacterium in bat tissue samples and large numbers of those tests might lead to a clue. A sufficient number of tests, once results are complete, will be put on a spreadsheet and studied, he said.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

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Officials fearful of deadly fish virus
The Post-Crescent - www.postcrescent.com
11 May 2008
B Jones
Photo courtesy of M.P. King
Area: Wisconsin United States

One year has passed since an Ebola-like fish virus known as VHS was discovered in this watershed. Officials then called it a "major fish health crisis." Today, this popular Calumet County harbor doesn't look like the scene of a crisis. The harbor's landing is enjoying regular traffic from fishermen, who are happily catching fish. The disease is not dangerous to humans. "My wife says (I fish) too often, but I don't think it's often enough," Rich Rieth of Chilton said recently as he cast for crappies.

While the viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus hasn't caused many visible changes on Lake Winnebago, officials warn the full effect on fish populations might not be known for years. In the meantime, officials are working to get fishermen and boaters to follow new rules aimed at halting the spread of a disease they can't see. "We are between a rock and a hard place, a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation," said Mike Staggs, fisheries director for the state Department of Natural Resources. "If VHS turns out to not be as problematic as scientists and others say, we will be criticized for going to far, creating too many problems.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

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Japan finds another case of bird flu in dead swan
Reuters India - in.reuters.com
10 May 2008
Area: Hokkaido Japan

Japan has found the H5N1 strain of bird flu in another swan in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, the prefectural government of Hokkaido said on its website on Saturday. The case was confirmed from a dead swan found five days ago near Lake Saroma in eastern Hokkaido. On the same day, local authorities had said the same strain of bird flu was found in another swan found dead on April 24 in another area of the island.

>>>FULL ARTICLE -- Map It

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Chronic wasting disease surfaces in Hampshire
Cumberland Times-News - www.times-news.com
09 May 2008
Area: West Virginia United States

Test results have detected the chronic wasting disease agent in 11 white-tailed deer collected this spring in Hampshire County, according to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. All the deer that tested positive for CWD were collected by Wildlife Resources Section personnel working in the Slanesville/Augusta area. No new positive samples were detected in the Yellow Springs area.

These collections have been designed to investigate and determine the prevalence and distribution of the disease in Hampshire County. Wildlife biologists are carefully monitoring changes in the structure of the deer herd within the CWD containment area. The first case of CWD in West Virginia was confirmed Sept. 2, 2005. Since that time, DNR has been implementing its CWD Incident Response Plan, which is designed to accomplish the following objectives.

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Website Tracks Animal-Based Diseases
Wisconsin Public Radio - wpr.org
12 May 2008
C Quirmbach

There’s a new online map for tracking wildlife diseases that threaten animals and people.

Diseases such as West Nile virus, chronic wasting disease, avian flu and others are now often in the news. A website developed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the U.S. Geological Survey aims to track reports of the disease outbreaks around the world.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS