Wildlife Disease News Digest

TOP STORIES

New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus
Science Daily - www.sciencedaily.com
25 Aug 2009

For the first time a new study suggests that when exposed in their natural ecosystem, wild pikas (a species closely related to rabbits) are mammalian hosts of H5N1 subtype avian influenza viruses and may also be a source of transmission to domestic mammals and humans.

. . . In the study researchers traced the circulation of the H5N1 virus in wild pikas and confirmed a natural H5N1 virus infection in their native environment. Genetic testing of the H5N1 virus isolated in pikas revealed two distinct evolutionary groups, a mixed/Vietnam H5N1 virus sublineage (MV-like pika virus) and a wild bird Qinghai-like H5N1 sublineage (QH-like pika virus).

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Cited journal article

J. Zhou et al. Characterization of the H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus Derived from Wild Pikas in China. Journal of Virology, 2009; 83 (17): 8957

Ocean only county to report West Nile-infected bird
Press of Atlantic City - www.pressofatlanticcity.com
25 Aug 2009
D Good
Location: Brick - Map It

and Manchester - Map It

, New Jersey, USA -

The West Nile virus has been found in three birds in Ocean County this summer, two coming last week, according to a report the state's Department of Health will release later this week.

It's the only county in the state where an infected bird has been reported.

The birds, blue jays, came from Brick and Manchester townships, said Leslie Terjesen, a spokeswoman for the Ocean County Health Department. Terjesen said 13 of the 62 statewide birds submitted for testing originated in Ocean County.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Viruses: Veterinarian in Australia Is Sickened After Being Exposed to a Rare Virus
New York Times - www.nytimes.com
24 Aug 2009
DG McNeil Jr
Location: Queensland, Australia - Map It

A veterinarian in Australia has been hospitalized in critical condition after exposure to the rare Hendra virus, according to local reports, which said he fell ill after treating two dying horses on a Queensland stud farm.

The virus was found in 1994 and has never been seen outside Australia since its discovery in Hendra, a Brisbane suburb. There have been only a dozen outbreaks, but the virus has proved lethal to horses and to humans caring for them. About 70 percent of the horses infected have died, and so have three of the six people known to have caught it from them — a veterinarian, a farmer and a prominent horse trainer, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Lawmakers warn of epidemic animal disease threats in China
China View - news.xinhuanet.com
25 Aug 2009

Chinese lawmakers warned Tuesday of a "grave hidden peril" of epidemic animal disease because of inadequate monitoring facilities and a complex international environment.

Even though the government has set up a compulsory vaccination system, requiring immunization of animals against diseases harmful to people's health and the husbandry industry, the possibility of outbreaks of disease still existed, the lawmakers said in a report presented at the 10th session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC).

>>> FULL ARTICLE

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS