Wildlife Disease News Digest

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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: National Geographic News