Wildlife Disease News Digest

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Evidence mounts people may also spread bat disease
Boston Globe - www.boston.com
09 May 2009
B Daley
Photo credit: USFWS
Area: United States

. . . While researchers suspect bats are probably spreading the disease among each other, there is mounting evidence that humans may be aiding.

That’s because the fungus persists in caves and mines year-round and its spores can easily attach to skin, clothing and equipment – and may be able to survive for weeks or months afterward. Another clue is that white nose seemed to leapfrog over other states this year - taking hold in West Virginia and Virginia caves popular with miners.

“We suspect that white-nose syndrome may be transmitted by humans inadvertently carrying WNS from cave to cave where bats hibernate,” said Northeast Regional Director Marvin Moriarty of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a recent press release.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>>White nose syndrome, bats - USA (12) [Discussion about feeding bats in their caves]
>>>Threat of Bat Syndrome Closes Some Midwest Caves
>>>Disease leads to steep decline in New Jersey bat population

Brazil does not detect bird flu in migratory birds from northern [Translated from Spanish via Google]
Xinhua News - www.xinhuanet.com
07 May 2009
Area: Brazil

Migratory birds that arrive in Brazil from the northern hemisphere are free of the virus that causes avian flu, according to research conducted by specialists from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

Investigators have so far analyzed samples of 573 birds from the northern hemisphere, none of which has been identified the most aggressive transmitter of the virus of bird flu, announced today the Foundation to Support Research in the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) which funded the project.

"The strains (virus) found in the samples are of low pathogenic potential and the possibility of being transmitted to humans are very low so far," said Claudio Andrade de Moraes, a researcher at UFRJ and one of those responsible for the project .

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>>WHO scientist: H1N1 swine flu likely developed from bird flu virus

Sea otters, resilient against virus, growing in population
Peninsula Daily News - www.peninsuladailynews.com
10 May 2009
R Ollikainen
Photo credit: Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News
Area: Port Angeles, Washington

The North Olympic Peninsula's sea otters show signs of having been exposed to pathogens that are killing other sea mammals, but they don't seem to be affected since the population is growing, a federal researcher based in Port Angeles said.

"Although we're seeing evidence that they're exposed, we're not seeing mortality," said Mary Sue Brancato, co-author of a comprehensive study on the Peninsula's sea otters.

"It's a very good sign," said Brancato, who is a resource-protection specialist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary sanctuary in Port Angeles.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Cited Report
>>>Chemical Contaminants, Pathogen Exposure and General Health Status of Live and Beach-Cast Washington Sea Otters.

Rules proposed to save the world's coral reefs
EurekAlert - www.eurekalert.org [Source: ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies]
10 May 2009
Photo credit: Nature Conservancy

An international team of scientists has proposed a set of basic rules to help save the world's imperiled coral reefs from ultimate destruction.

Their proposal is being unveiled at the World Ocean Conference 2009 in Manado, Indonesia, where leaders of six regional governments plus Australia and the United States are meeting to declare the largest-ever marine reserve in world history, the Coral Triangle Initiative.

"The catastrophic decline in the world's coral reefs demands urgent management responses on two fronts," say the researchers from the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS), The Australian Museum, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, James Cook, Perpignan and the United Nations Universities and The Nature Conservancy.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>>A big lesson from the reef [Great Barrier Reef]
>>>One-third of reef-building corals close to extinction, scientists say
>>>Hawaii reefs showing strain of overuse, lack of protection
>>>Wave Power Electricity from Swell Fuel Could Help Revive Coral Reefs

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: Guardian - www.guardian.co.uk