Wildlife Disease News Digest: June 2009

June 30, 2009

TOP STORIES

Gulls Killed, Maimed By Cooking Oil In River Spill
NewsNet5 - www.newsnet5.com
26 Jun 2009
Area: Cuyahoga River, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA - Map It

Hundreds of gulls were killed or maimed after a substance that appeared to be cooking oil spewed out of a sewer pipe into the Cuyahoga River, investigators said.

Several hundred gallons of the substance killed or disabled hundreds of gulls near the Kingsbury Run tributary. Officials said more than 500 birds were found dead and another 30 or 40 "in distress" near the ArcelorMittal Steel Plant near downtown Cleveland.

A steel company spokeswoman said the company was also looking into the problem, but did not have any information on how the birds might have become contaminated.

>>>FULL ARTICLE [includes slideshow]

Avian influenza (46): Russia (TU) wild birds, OIE
ProMED-mail - www.promedmail.org
25 Jun 2009
Area: Ubsu-Nur, Ovursky, Respublika Tyva, Russia - Map It

Information received on (and dated) 24 Jun 2009 from Dr Nicolay
Vlasov, CVO, Veterinary services, Ministry of Agriculture and Food,
Moscow, Russia

Summary
Report type: immediate notification (final report)
Start date: 11 Jun 2009
Date of first confirmation of the event: 12 Jun 2009
Report date: 24 Jun 2009
Date submitted to OIE: 24 Jun 2009
Date event resolved: 24 Jun 2009
Reason for notification: reoccurrence of a listed disease
Date of previous occurrence: 8 May 2008
Manifestation of disease: clinical disease
Causal agent: highly pathogenic avian influenza virus
Serotype: H5N1
Nature of diagnosis: clinical, laboratory (advanced), necropsy
This event pertains to the whole country

>>>FULL POSTING

Plague wipes out prairie dog town
Amarillo.com - www.amarillo.com
27 Jun 2009
K Welch
Photo credit: John J. Mosesso/NBII Digital Image Library
Area: Hansford County, Texas, USA - Map It

The heat is not the only thing Panhandle residents need to be careful of this summer. Bubonic plague is affecting animals, and at least one person has contracted West Nile virus in the region.

A prairie dog town in northeast Hansford County was wiped out by bubonic plague in the past few weeks, said Ron Antalek, the county's emergency management coordinator. He suggested being on alert for signs of other die-offs, controlling pets to prevent them from getting the fleas that carry the disease and not directly handling dead rodents.

. . . The last known prairie dog die-offs in the Panhandle in which the animals tested positive for plague were in Sherman County in 2006, according to the Texas Department of Health Services.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Cuts in controls on travelling pets 'could bring new diseases to Britain'
Guardian News - www.guardian.co.uk
29 Jun 2009
J Meikle
Area: United Kingdom

Health experts have warned that Britain could be vulnerable to diseases not previously reported in this country if the EU presses ahead with plans to drop controls on pet travel.

One of the most dangerous threats comes from tapeworms or ticks carried by pets, according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA). It voiced its concern as UK officials fight to keep requirements for travelling pets to be vaccinated against rabies and treated against other diseases that can spread to people.

Its arguments about the threat to public health and native wildlife have already persuaded authorities in Brussels to delay the changes for 18 months to the end of 2011, but the HPA and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have signalled that controls should remain much longer.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: National Geographic News

PICTURES: Wild Europe Exposed by Giant Photo Project
Wisconsin: Officials: No bird feeders in summer
The Environmental Risks of Arctic Shipping
APSU part of effort to prevent white-nose syndrome in bats [Tennessee]
Electrified coral reef off Florida gets federal OK
Calls for detailed Tarkine devil survey [Tasmania]
Pandemic reveals strengths of new flu database
Bees Are Not an Option [USGS CoreCast - audio broadcast]
The plight of the honeybee [United Kingdom]
DNA Patterns Of Microbes [causes leading to bacteria becoming pathogenic]

Some Interesting or Good News

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Browse complete Digest publication library here.

Virus and host determinants of west nile virus pathogenesis
PLoS Pathog. 2009 Jun;5(6):e1000452 [free full-text available]
MS Diamond

Space-time Bayesian survival modeling of chronic wasting disease in deer
Prev Vet Med. 2009 Jun 22
HR Song and A Lawson

Selective processing and metabolism of disease-causing mutant prion proteins
PLoS Pathog. 2009 Jun;5(6):e1000479. Epub 2009 Jun 19
A Ashok and RS Hegde

Primary Pneumonic Plague Contracted from a Mountain Lion Carcass
Clin Infect Dis. 2009 Jun 25. [Epub ahead of print]
D Wong et al.

June 29, 2009

June 26, 2009

TOP STORIES

Cancer Kills Wild Animals Too
LiveScience - www.livescience.com
24 Jun 2009
Photo credit: Cynthia Lagueux

Cancer accounts for about 10 percent of all human deaths. If you think that sets us apart, scientists have news for you: Wild animals die of cancer at about the same rate, and it threatens some species with extinction.

"Cancer is one of the leading health concerns for humans," Dr. Denise McAloose, a pathologist for the Wildlife Conservation Society, said in a statement. "But we now understand that cancer can kill wild animals at similar rates."

McAloose and her colleagues compiled information on cancer in wildlife and concluded that cancer poses a conservation threat to certain species. The team called for greater protection of animals and people through increased health monitoring. They published their research in the July edition of the journal Nature Reviews Cancer.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article
>>>Wildlife cancer: a conservation perspective. Nature Reviews Cancer. 2009 July; 9: 517-526.

Reported Wildlife Mortality Events to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center Updated
USGS National Wildlife Health Center
25 Jun 2009
Area: United States

USGS and a network of partners across the country work on documenting wildlife mortality events in order to provide timely and accurate information on locations, species and causes of death. This information was updated on June 22, 20079 on the USGS National Wildlife Health Center web page, New and Ongoing Wildlife Mortality Events Nationwide. Quarterly Mortality Reports are also available from this page. These reports go back to 1995.

>>> Updated Wildlife Mortality Event Table

On Malaria Struggle, Baboons And Humans Have Similar Stories To Tell
ScienceDaily - www.sciencedaily.com (Source: Duke University)
24 Jun 2009
Photo credit: Zina Deretsky, National Science Foundation

Evolutionarily speaking, baboons may be our more distant cousins among primates. But when it comes to our experiences with malaria over the course of time, it seems the stories of our two species have followed very similar plots.

In humans, subtle variation in one particular gene that controls whether a protein on the surface of red blood cells gets made or not literally spells the difference between susceptibility or resistance to one form of malaria. That's because the blood protein serves as the entry point for Plasmodium vivax, one of several malaria-causing parasites that infect humans.

Now, researchers at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy report that variation in precisely the same regulatory gene also influences baboons' chances of getting sick, by ratcheting their susceptibility to another, closely related parasite up or down.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article
>>>Evolution of a malaria resistance gene in wild primates. Nature. 2009 Jun 24; [Epub ahead of print].

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: Summit Daily News

Bovine Tuberculosis

Bovine tuberculosis, cervids - USA: (MN) - Beltrami County, Minnesota, USA - Map It
U.S. Animal Health Association to host TB symposium

Brucellosis

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Browse complete Digest publication library here.

Organization of Fish and Wildlife Information Managers (OFWIM) Newsletter
Summer Issues

Emerging Infectious Diseases - June 2009
Volume 15, Number 6

Journal of Wildlife Management - July 2008
Volume 73, Issue 5

Avian Diseases - June 2009
Volume 53, Number 2

June 23, 2009

June 22, 2009

TOP STORIES

WNS Not Yet Confirmed In Local Bats
DNR Online - www.dnronline.com
19 Jun 2009
J Jones
Location: Virgina, USA

It remains unclear whether bats found earlier this year in Endless Caverns were infected with a mysterious fungus that has wiped out hundreds of thousands of bats in the Northeast.

. . . In April, biologists with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries discovered bats in Endless Caverns, a commercial show cave near New Market, with symptoms of WNS.

Rick Reynolds, a state game department wildlife biologist, sent three bats suspected of having the disease from Endless Caverns to a national testing facility in Madison, Wis.

On Monday, Reynolds said the lab had trouble culturing the fungus from the bats, making it difficult to determine whether the specimens in fact had the disease.

The lab will likely perform other tests on the bats, including a histopathology - a microscopic examination of tissue, but it may be some time before the results are available, he said.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Antibacterial found in dolphins
Environmental Health News
18 Jun 2009
K Kidd
Location: USA - Charleston, South Carolina - Map It

and Indian River Lagoon, Florida - Map It

For the first time, the popular antibacterial agent triclosan is found in the blood of a marine mammal.

A bacteria-killing chemical widely used in an array of consumer products has made its way down kitchen and bathroom sinks and into dolphins living in US coastal waters.

Researchers report for the first time that a marine mammal – the bottlenose dolphin – is accumulating triclosan from water bodies where treated sewage is released. The study examined animals from rivers, an estuary, a harbor and a lagoon in South Carolina and Florida.

Triclosan is a common additive in soaps, deodorants, toothpastes and other personal care products that is included to help control bacteria and their related illnesses. It is also put into consumer products like socks, cutting boards and garbage bags to curb the growth of bacteria.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Cited Article

Occurrence of triclosan in plasma of wild Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and in their environment. Environmental Pollution. 2009; PA Fair

New Atlantic Ocean seal virus found in Kachemak Bay otters
Homer News - www.homernews.com
18 Jun 2009
M Armstrong
Location: Kachemak Bay, Alaska, USA - Map It

Ocean warming could have caused Phocine distemper to spread here

A virus previously seen only in Atlantic Ocean seals has been identified in Alaska sea otters, including three dead otters found in Kachemak Bay from 2005-2007.

In a paper published this month in the Centers for Disease Control's "Emerging Infectious Diseases," phocine distemper virus was documented in dead and live otters tested by biologists studying an unusual mortality event among Alaska sea otters. Ocean warming and a decline in Arctic Ocean sea ice may have lead to the spread of the virus across the arctic.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article

Phocine Distemper Virus in Northern Sea Otters in the Pacific Ocean, Alaska, USA. EID. 2009 Jun; 15(6). T. Goldstein et al.

State Fish and Game officials look into mystery of dead fish at Lake Kaweah
Visalia Times-Delta - www.visaliatimesdelta.com
19 Jun 2009
D Castellon
Location: Lake Kaweah, California, USA - Map It

Photo courtesy of Visalia Times-Delta

For Christina Maxwell and her family, a sunny June day held the promise of a great day fishing and swimming near the Slick Rock Recreation Area.

But the Maxwells didn't much feel like getting in the water. The shoreline of the quiet inlet they chose as a day spot was covered in trash and dead fish.

. . . Over the past two weeks, visitors and Army Corps of Engineers park rangers have reported large numbers of dead fish on shore and floating in the water. The California Department of Fish and Game has been called in to find out what killed them.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Other Fish News

Is stress killing fish in lower Susquehanna River? [Pennsylvania, USA - Map It

]

June 18, 2009

TOP STORIES

Exotic Louse found on mule deer near Saratoga
Buckmasters - www.buckmasters.com (Source: Wyoming Game And Fish Department)
16 Jun 2009
Photo credit: John J. Mosesso/NBII.Gov
Area: Saratoga, Wyoming

An adult mule deer buck collected from hunt area 80 near Saratoga was found to have a heavy infestation of the exotic louse Bovicola tibialis. This is the first time this nonnative external parasite has been documented in Wyoming.

According to Dr. Terry Kreeger, supervisor of Wyoming Game and Fish Department veterinary services, the exotic louse is another threat to mule deer populations. "Although it appears that this current case is a rare finding, we expect the louse to spread slowly over time," Kreeger said.

The deer was collected for necropsy on Apr. 3, 2009, by Saratoga Wildlife Biologist Will Schultz and was necropsied by WGFD veterinarian, Dr. Cynthia Tate, the same day. Dr. Tate noted severe hair loss, skin inflammation and a heavy infestation of chewing lice.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Fish with lesions being caught around Mobile Bay
Mobile Press-Register - www.al.com
16 Jun 2009
B Raines and J Dute
Area: Mobile Bay, Mobile County, Alabama, USA - Map It

Although a dozen croakers had already been pulled aboard the Press-Register boat Thursday morning, something was clearly wrong with this particular fish.

Open red lesions were visible under its throat, the flesh raw and exposed with no sign of scales or skin beneath the wound.

A speckled trout caught later in the day also sported the distinctive wounds on its flanks and belly. Its skin appeared dull and seemed to hang loosely to the mushy flesh beneath.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>>Bacteria said to be cause of St. Clair die-off - Lake St. Clair, St. Clair County, Michigan, USA - Map It

Reported Wildlife Mortality Events to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center Updated
USGS National Wildlife Health Center
18 Jun 2009
Area: United States

USGS and a network of partners across the country work on documenting wildlife mortality events in order to provide timely and accurate information on locations, species and causes of death. This information was updated on June 16, 2009 on the USGS National Wildlife Health Center web page, New and Ongoing Wildlife Mortality Events Nationwide. Quarterly Mortality Reports are also available from this page. These reports go back to 1995.

>>> Updated Wildlife Mortality Event Table

Moran Statement on Study Providing Clues to Intersex Fish
American Chronicle - www.americanchronicle.com (Source: Congressional Desk)
16 Jun 2009
Area: United States

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Geological Survey´s (USGS) recent study that revealed clues as to the occurrence of intersex fish in the Potomac River.

The study found exposure to estrogen in fish reduces production of immune-related proteins, suggesting that compounds known as endocrine disruptors may make fish more susceptible to disease.

"This study provides new clues linking chemicals in our waters to the occurrence of intersex fish in the Potomac. Alarm bells go off when 80 percent of male bass in the Potomac River are found to produce eggs. The USGS study brings a narrow focus and sharp conclusion that estrogen chemicals are negatively affecting our aquatic life.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>>Transfer Of Heavy Metals From Water To Fish Detailed In Huelva Estuary, Spain
>>>Dangerous levels of mercury found in some Utah fish - Utah, USA - Map It

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: Holger Braun/BBC News

South America's wildlife wonders [slideshow]
Endangered birds reintroduced at San Elijo Lagoon [light-footed clapper rails, California]
Global sunscreen won't save corals
Iran's marine mammals endangered
Nutrient Delivery to the Gulf of Mexico Among Highest
Noise fear for Zimbabwe elephants
Zebra Mussels Hang On While Quagga Mussels Take Over [Great Lakes, United States]
Navy exercises blamed over dead dolphins [United Kingdom]
Population Assessment Finds Too Many Manatees Suffer Death-by-Boat-Strike [Florida]
See Them While You Can: Endangered Butterfly Gallery [United Kingdom]
Russian Arctic reserve may save polar bears from extinction - WWF
Thousands of bees return to Kew [United Kingdom]

Interesting Tidbits

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Browse complete Digest publication library here.

Detection of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Endemic Salamander Species from Central Texas
Ecohealth. 2009 May 8. [Epub ahead of print]
JP Gaertner et al.

Emerging Infections: A Tribute to the One Medicine, One Health Concept
Zoonoses Public Health. 2009 May 20. [Epub ahead of print]
RE Kahn et al.

Inactivation of avian influenza virus using four common chemicals and one detergent
Poult Sci. 2009 Jun;88(6):1181-5
EL Alphin et al.

June 16, 2009

TOP STORIES

Sick sea critters aided by Marine Mammal Center
Associated Press - www.ap.org
14 Jun 2009
J Dearen
Area: California, United States

A recent surge in weakened and malnourished sea lions found along the Northern California coast is mystifying scientists and keeping workers hopping at the newly expanded Marine Mammal Center here.

"We're way ahead in the numbers this year. We have twice as many animals as we should," marine veterinarian Bill Van Bonn said after examining Charcoal, a sick harbor seal.

Experts at the non-profit center, located on wind-swept Marin headlands just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, believe the perplexing spike in malnourished sea lions along several hundred miles of coast could be due to a decline in populations of smaller fish that young seals and sea lions eat while developing.

>>>FULL ARTICLE
>>>VIDEO

Nearly A Million Bats Dead from Mysterious Disease
VOA News - www.voanews.com
12 Jun 2009
Zulima Palacio
Area: United States

Three years ago, a few hundred bats were found dead in hibernating caves in the northeastern state of New York. The event barely registered for some scientists. By the following winter, the death toll had risen to a few thousand bats, sparking concern among some experts.

This year, the death toll could near a million, and has set off an alarm among scientists and farmers. The dramatic reduction in the bat population and and its potential extinction could have extensive health, economic and environmental effects.

Hundreds of thousands of bats have died in the northeastern region of the United States. According to some experts, the death toll is close to a million. The bats are succumbing to a disease called White Nose Syndrome, with a white fungus appearing on the nose, ears and wings of the bats.

>>>FULL ARTICLE AND PODCAST

New Wildlife Health Strategy will help tackle disease
DEFRA - www.defra.gov.uk
15 Jun 2009
Area: United Kingdom

Defra has published a new strategy setting out a general approach to tackling wildlife disease.

The Wildlife Health Strategy, which complements Defra’s Veterinary Surveillance Strategy and Animal Health and Welfare Strategy will be implemented across England.

It sets it sights on strengthening collaborations and developing communication networks for wildlife health to enhance and widen the sharing of information and expertise with the aim of increasing our knowledge and understanding of both infectious and non-infectious diseases in wildlife.

>>>FULL PRESS RELEASE

>>>WILDLIFE HEALTH STRATEGY

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: www.treehugger.com

Sea Turtle Thrives on South African Beaches
Fish and Game agents shoot and kill sick bighorn
Number of loon shootings worrisome - Meredith Bay, Belknap County, New Hampshire, USA - Map It
Texas wind farms deploy radar so birds, not feathers, can fly
World's most invasive jellyfish spreading along Israel coast

Wildlife Poisoning

Police raid Scottish grouse moor after poisoned red kite is found dead - Peebles, Scotland, UK - Map It
Official: Sumatran elephant poisoned in Indonesia - Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia - Map It

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Browse complete Digest publication library here.

Top 10 principles for designing healthy coastal ecosystems like the Salish Sea
Ecohealth. 2008 Dec;5(4):460-71. Epub 2009 Mar 4
JK Gaydos et al.

Mercury toxicity and the mitigating role of selenium
Ecohealth. 2008 Dec;5(4):456-9. Epub 2009 Feb 6.
MJ Berry and NV Ralston

Designing graduate training programs in conservation medicine-producing the right professionals with the right tools
Ecohealth. 2008 Dec;5(4):519-27. Epub 2009 Feb 11.
GE Kaufman et al.

>>> See EcoHealth TOC for more articles

Joint Oversight Hearing On "White-Nose Syndrome: What's Killing Bats In The Northeast?"'
Subcommittee Hearing Video [1 hour 36 min 36 sec][To play click on "view archived video"]
[Shared by the USGS National Wildlife Health Center]

A New Twist on Prion Disease
ScienceNOW Daily News. 2009 Jun 11; 611 [Epub]
J Couzin-Frankel

Wildlife Disease News Digest

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