In the Spotlight: SCWDS BRIEFS – Updating Wildlife Professionals about Wildlife Disease Developments

The Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) at the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine regularly publishes the SCWDS BRIEFS newsletter, a freely available publication which works to inform wildlife professionals about important developments related to wildlife disease and their profession.

Interested readers can browse archived issues of the newsletter from the SCWDS web site or they can search issues dating back to 2000 on the Digital Commons @ University of Nebraska-Lincoln web site.

Below is a list of topics covered in the latest issue, illustrating the type of useful information offered by SCWDS BRIEFS.

• USDA Seeks Comments on New CWD Rule
• Some of the Intricacies of CWD
• 3rd International CWD Symposium
• White Nose Syndrome Update
• Wildlife Poisoning in Kansas
• Salmonellosis in Your Backyard
• Trichomonosis in Songbirds
  
  
  

>>> Access the full issue as a pdf here.

TOP STORIES

The Wild’s Creeping Killer
Newsweek - www.newsweek.com
27 Jul 2009
Photo credit: Anoek de Groot / AFP-Getty Images; inset: AP

In 1999, wildlife disease specialist Thierry Work looked over the bow of his small whaler as it cut through a lagoon on the south side of Molokai, an island in Hawaii. On an emergent rock he saw a listless sea turtle, waiting to die.

"This guy was so weak that he just let us pick him up," says Work, who runs the National Wildlife Health Center’sHonolulu field station. "He was so emaciated that his ventral was completely disked in. You could fill him up with water and use him as a bowl." Like more than quarter of the green turtles Work has plucked from the water or found stranded on Hawaii's beaches, this one was covered with tumors on its eyes and mouth, dying from a poorly understood form of cancer.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Indiana Deer Cull Planned to Test for Bovine Tuberculosis
Muncie Free Press - www.munciefreepress.com
29 Jul 2009
kpaul.mallasch
Area: Indiana, USA

Conservation officers from the Department of Natural Resources will cull up to 30 white-tailed deer this week in a targeted area of Franklin County to help determine if bovine tuberculosis has spread to wild populations.

Three southeast Indiana facilities with captive cervids - deer or elk - have tested positive for the disease since May, according to the Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH).

The DNR has worked cooperatively with BOAH and the U.S. Department of Agriculture on surveillance procedures for the ongoing investigation, which now shifts to testing wildlife.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

British crayfish get a "safe haven" from American invaders and a fungus that eats them from the inside out
Scientific American - www.scientificamerican.com
28 Jul 2009
J Platt
Area: United Kingdom

Looking for crayfish in Britain? Look hard. Almost 95 percent of British crayfish have been wiped out in the last 20 years. Now some of the few remaining crustaceans are going into hiding in a desperate, last-gasp chance to save their species from extinction.

Like so many problems around the world, this one can be placed squarely on the heads of Americans—although in this case, we're talking about American signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus).

First introduced to Britain two decades ago as food for trout farms, American crayfish have made their way into the wild. They not only outcompete the local white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) for food, but they also carry crayfish plague (Aphanomyces astaci), a water mold that is deadly to the British crayfish.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

OTHER WILDLIFE RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: Scientific American

• Cold-blooded critters in hot water: Could global warming shorten the life spans of some animals?
• Extinction Crisis Looms In Oceania
• Foreign Mosquitoes Invading United States, Presenting New Health Threats Tracked by Colorado State University
• Climate Change and Infectious Diseases: Unfinished Business

CWD

• Moose Tiggers Controversy [Vermont]
• Creighton U. receives $1.4 million grant [Nebraska]

Bats

• Radar protects British bats
• New Wind Turbine Unveiled
• Bizarre Walking Bat Has Ancient Heritage

Interesting News

• Monkey Herds Goats; Farmer Approves

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Browse complete Digest publication library here.

Immunohistochemical and biochemical characteristics of BSE and CWD in experimentally infected European red deer (Cervus elaphus elaphus) [provisional abstract]
BMC Veterinary Research. 2009 Jul 27; 5: 26
S Martin et al.

TOP STORIES

Hellbenders collected to test for fungus linked to amphibian decline
KnoxNews.com - www.knoxnews.com
27 Jul 2009
M Simmons
Photo credit: A Brimer
Area: Tennessee, USA

This summer, investigators with the University of Tennessee and the Knoxville Zoo are collecting hellbenders to test for a pathogenic fungus linked to the sharp decline of frogs and other amphibians throughout the world.

The fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, was first identified in 1998 after it caused widespread frog deaths in Australia and Central America. Scientists now believe it may have entered North America as early as the 1970s, and likely was introduced by infected African clawed frogs sold in pet stores and used in research.

The fungus causes a disease that infects not just frogs, but salamanders, too. So far, it has only been identified in the Ozark hellbender, a subspecies of Arkansas and Missouri.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Mystery of the massive bat die-off
theday.com - www.theday.com
26 Jul 2009
J Benson
Area: Northeast, USA

. . . One New Hampshire woman with a small roost in her barn, von Oettingen said, reported finding eight pups on the floor. Typically, mother bats will quickly retrieve fallen pups, but seven of the eight died after about an hour on the floor with no mother in sight. The last lived a couple of days, then died.

At the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Francois Courtin, a veterinary medicine post-doctoral fellow in pathology, has analyzed about 40 dead bats sent to him by Kocer and her counterparts in New York state. The animals were collected in hibernacula in the two states visited by the biologists in late winter.

All 40 had the fungal infection, he said. Courtin said he is anticipating the release of new research findings by colleagues at other laboratories this fall, and has applied for a federal grant to study how the fungus is being transmitted. “We are hoping to make a contribution,” Courtin said.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Closing the door on potential pandemics
BBC News - news.bbc.co.uk
27 Jul 2009
W Karesh

Geographic and environmental boundaries that once protected us from widespread disease outbreaks are no more, says William Karesh. In this week's Green Room, he calls for the West to adopt a "prevention is better than cure" approach to human and animal health.

Today, the expanding human population and activity has opened the pandemic "window" even wider.

A major component of any strategy to protect ourselves must involve treating disease before it gets to us.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

OTHER WILDLIFE RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: Associated Press

• Hope of freedom for orang-utans dashed
• Rockland fish kill caused by virus; humans, drinking water unaffected - Hackensack River, New York, USA - Map It
• Steller Sea Lions In Jeopardy: Wildlife Research on the Last Frontier
• 121 breeding tigers estimated to be found in Nepal
• Massachusetts studying roads, highways to reduce turtle mortality

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Browse complete Digest publication library here.

Evaluation of Student Abilities to Respond to a "Real-World" Question about an Emerging Infectious Disease
J Vet Med Educ. 2009 Summer;36(2):216-9
DN Phalen

Parasite zoonoses and climate change: molecular tools for tracking shifting boundaries
Trends Parasitol. 2009 Jun;25(6):285-91. Epub 2009 May 8
L Polley and RC Thompson

The toxicology of climate change: environmental contaminants in a warming world
Environ Int. 2009 Aug;35(6):971-86. Epub 2009 Apr 16
PD Noyes et al.

Avian influenza - Scientific and Technical Review - 2009
28 Volume, 1 Issue

Table of contents includes:

• Epidemiology of low pathogenic avian influenza viruses in wild birds
• Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Europe: the risks associated with wild birds
• Intra- and interspecies transmission of H7N7 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus during the avian influenza epidemic in the Netherlands in 2003

European Journal of Wildlife Research - August 2009
Volume 55, Issue 4

TOP STORIES

Coral Bleaching Likely In Caribbean
ScienceDaily - www.sciencedaily.com (Source: NOAA)
27 Jul 2009
Photo credit: NOAA

Scientists from NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch Program say conditions are favorable for significant coral bleaching and infectious coral disease outbreaks in the Caribbean, especially in the Lesser Antilles.

The forecast is based on the July NOAA Coral Reef Watch outlook, which expects continued high water temperatures through October 2009.

Scientists are concerned that bleaching may reach the same levels or exceed those recorded in 2005, the worst coral bleaching and disease year in Caribbean history.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

After seven years, attitude toward chronic wasting disease changing
Wisconsin State Journal - www.madison.com
27 Jul 2009
R Seely
Area: Wisconsin, USA

After seven years of living with chronic wasting disease in the Wisconsin deer herd, the initial fears about eating venison have calmed.

But the news last week of a death at UW Hospital due to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease brought to mind once again the dangers of the neurological illnesses known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, or TSEs.

. . . Researchers at Madison’s National Wildlife Health Center are studying both the tough nature of the prions and their structure and infectivity. One researcher, for example, has found that voles are susceptible to infection from prions and serve as a good model for studies.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>>Local deer herd in fine shape [Colorado]

Disease Threat May Change How Frogs Mate
ScienceDaily - www.sciencedaily.com (Source: Wiley - Blackwell)
27 Jul 2009

Dr Amber Teacher, studying a post-doctorate at Royal Holloway, University of London, has discovered evidence that a disease may be causing a behavioural change in frogs.

The research, published in the August edition of ‘Molecular Ecology’, has unearthed a surprising fact about our long-tongued friends: wild frogs in the UK may be changing their mating behaviour.

. . . The research followed concerns over the survival of wild frog populations in the UK. Ranavirus, which had its first reported case in England in the early 1980s, is one of many pathogens ravaging the amphibian community.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article
>>>Population genetic patterns suggest a behavioural change in wild common frogs (Rana temporaria) following disease outbreaks (Ranavirus). Molecular Ecology. 2009 Jun 29; 18(15): 3163-3172.

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: Andy Rouse/NHPA/New Scientist

• Last chance to save the gorilla
• Dozens of dead birds found at Ottawa hotel - LaSalle County, Illinois, USA - Map It
• Dragonfly discovery a 'UK record'
• Heat may speed up evolution
• Inbred Bumblebees Less Successful Due To 'Inefficient' Males

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Browse complete Digest publication library here.

Emerging Infectious Diseases –August 2009
Volume 15, Number 8

Wildlife Research
Volume 36 Number 5

Australian surveillance for avian influenza viruses in wild birds between July 2005 and June 2007
Aust Vet J. 2009 Jul;87(7):266-72
L Haynes et al.

Dispersal of a Blow Fly, Calliphora nigribarbis, in Relation to the Dissemination of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus
Jpn J Infect Dis. 2009 Jul;62(4):294-7
Y Tsuda et al.

Ecology and geography of avian influenza (HPAI H5N1) transmission in the Middle East and northeastern Africa
Int J Health Geogr. 2009 Jul 20;8(1):47. [Epub ahead of print]
RA Williams and AT Peterson

TOP STORIES

West Nile virus update: Benton County red-tailed hawk is state’s first bird to test positive this season [Press Release]
Washington State Dept of Health - www.doh.wa.gov
23 Jul 2009
Location: Washington, USA - Map It

An ailing red-tailed hawk captured in the Prosser area of Benton County tested positive for West Nile virus. This is the first bird to test positive in our state this year.

The bird was found ill last month in the Prosser area. It was sent to a rehabilitation center in Eastern Oregon where blood was drawn last week and sent to Oregon State University for testing. Along with this bird, the virus has been detected in 63 mosquito pools in Yakima and Benton counties this year. Last year 24 birds tested positive for West Nile virus.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Other West Nile Virus News

>>> Do Chicago’s suburbs hold the key to understanding West Nile virus? [UW-Madison Press Release]

Scientists to Investigate Impacts of Wind Energy on Migratory Wildlife: Industry and conservation representatives set research priorities [Press Release]
American Bird Conservancy - www.abcbirds.org
23 Jul 2009

Thirty top wildlife scientists have announced agreement on some of the highest research priorities to help America’s rapidly growing wind energy industry produce much-needed alternative energy—while also providing safe passage for birds and bats.

This coalition of scientists from industry, government, nongovernmental organizations, and universities met recently in Racine, Wisconsin, to address unanswered questions about how continued wind energy development will affect migrating birds and bats. The meeting was hosted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the American Bird Conservancy, and The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread.

>>> FULL PRESS RELEASE

Other Related Wind Turbine News

>>> Objection to wind farm over bird

>>>Gull killer turbines are removed

Chimpanzees Infected With SIV Do Develop And Die From AIDS, Contrary To Prevailing View
Science Daily - www.sciencedaily.com
23 Jul 2009

Although the AIDS virus (HIV-1) entered the human population through chimpanzees, scientists have long believed that chimpanzees don't develop AIDS. But a new study from an international team, including University of Minnesota professors Anne Pusey and Michael Wilson, shows that chimpanzees infected with SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus), the precursor to HIV-1, do contract and die from AIDS. The discovery is published in the July 23 issue of Nature.


The authors report that infected chimpanzees in their study group were 10-16 times more likely to die than those who were uninfected. The team also found that infected females were less likely to give birth and infants born to infected mothers were unlikely to survive. The virus, they learned, was transmitted sexually and through mother's milk. Over the nine-year study period, 10-20 percent of the 94 chimpanzees were infected at any one time.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article

BF Keela et al. 2009. Increased mortality and AIDS-like immunopathology in wild chimpanzees infected with SIVcpz. Nature; 460(7254): 515

Other Primate News

>>> The Impact of Congo Violence on Lowland Gorillas

Deadly bass virus outbreak hits Miss. lake
Outdoors - www.clarionledger.com
23 Jul 2009
B Cleveland
Location: Lake Okhissa, Mississippi, USA - Map It

U.S. Forest Service biologists have confirmed an outbreak of Largemouth Bass Virus (LMBV) at Lake Okhissa, a popular fishing destination at Homochitto National Forest in southwest Mississippi.

Biologist Rick Dillard said Thursday that sample bass taken to the Mississippi State University fisheries lab were found to have LMBV, a fatal disease that only affects largemouth bass.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Alien-Wasp Swarms Devouring Birds, Bugs in Hawaii
National Geographic - news.nationalgeographic.com
23 Jul 2009
C Dell'Amore
Photo courtesy of National Geographic

Attacking from nests as big as pickup-truck beds, invasive western yellowjacket wasps in Hawaii are munching their way through an "astonishing diversity" of creatures, from caterpillars to pheasants, a new study says.

Adult yellowjackets consume only nectar. But they kill or scavenge prey to deliver needed protein to their growing broods.

. . .In their native habitat in the western U.S., the wasps die off in winter. But in Hawaii the wasps survive the winter, possibly due to mild year-round temperatures or subtle genetic changes.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

TOP READ LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

1. Report to the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center [word document]
2. Australia: Who are the killers of penguins? [translation]
3. Feds Win Ruling Over Elk Feedgrounds in Wyoming
4. Galapagos penguins harbour malaria threat
5. Night Stalker: White-Nose Fungus in Bats--Why It's Our Problem, Too
6. Animal/Human Disease Center Discusses Mission
7. Honeybee research funding must increase, MPs warn
8. Unusual Effects On Cell Infected By Virus Found In Boiling Acidic Spring In Yellowstone National Park
9. 2 jaguars released in Mexico, but 1 dies
10. Lyme disease cases rise as West Nile virus falls
    
    

Publications

1. Identifying the species-origin of faecal droppings used for avian influenza virus surveillance in wild-birds
2. The Effects of West Nile Virus on the Reproductive Success and Overwinter Survival of Eastern Bluebirds in Alabama
3. Large-scale spatio-temporal shifts in the diet of a predator mediated by an emerging infectious disease of its main prey

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of The Guardian

• The week in wildlife
• Wildlife officials euthanize whale in Myrtle Beach [Map It ]
• VDGIF Looking for Bats in Belfries
• Noise Pollution Negatively Affects Woodland Bird Communities
• Saving the Good, the Bad--And the Ugly [Slide Show][endangered ugly underdogs]
• Marine mammals get helping hand: Network wants to know when distressed or dead animals spotted
• Honeybees sterilise their hives
• New Software To Understand Viruses
• Climate Change Influences The Size Of Marine Organisms: Big Advantage For The Small
• Big-Beaked Toucans Play It Cool [includes audio broadcast] [similar story with video]
  

It's Not All Bad News

• Biologists Rediscover Endangered Frog Population [USGS Press Release]
• Construction set to start on wildlife overpass
• New Species of Horny Toad Identified in California
• Bangladesh leopard renews hopes for species survival
• New lizard species found in India
• Hope for critically endangered Indian vulture as chick is born in captivity

In the Spotlight: Free Online Reference Guides on WNV and CWD

Free Online Reference Guides on West Nile Virus and Chronic Wasting Disease


The Wildlife Information Network provides electronic reference volumes on wildlife, wildlife habitats and emerging infectious diseases. This electronic library, WildPro, includes volumes on West Nile Virus and Chronic Wasting Disease that are freely available from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center Web site and can be accessed directly from their Wildlife Information Network WildPro page.


WildPro Reference Volume - Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Deer and Elk
Developed to assist wildlife managers, veterinarians and others in their efforts to control and prevent CWD in wild and farmed deer, this volume provides a detailed description of the disease, including clinical signs, pathology, disease management, cost measures as well as video clips demonstrating ungulate necropsy and tissue collection techniques.

Other Notable CWD Resources

• CWD Updates - Periodic briefs that summarize CWD events, issues, research and management efforts
• CWD Map Collection on WDIN - Provides disease distribution maps

WildPro Reference Volume - West Nile Virus
Created for veterinary and human health professionals, wildlife managers and others working to manage WNV, this volume offers a detailed description of the disease, including etiology, diagnosis, disease management as well as video clips demonstrating bird necropsy and blood sampling techniques.

Other Notable WNV Resources

• USGS/CDC WNV Maps - Offers disease distribution maps
• CIDRAP - Provides the latest WNV news and publications, and more

TOP STORIES

Galapagos penguins harbour malaria threat
New Scientist - www.newscientist.com
22 Jul 2009
C Brahic
Photo credit: Michael Nolan/SplashdownDirect/Rex Features
Area: Galapagos Province, Ecuador

Penguins and malaria are not two organisms you would normally associate with each other, yet biologists have found the malaria parasite in an endangered species of the black-and-white waddlers.

Iris Levin of the University of Missouri at St Louis and her colleagues took blood samples from 362 Galapagos penguins – already listed as being threatened with extinction – on nine islands in the Galapagos archipelago.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article
>>>Plasmodium blood parasite found in endangered Galapagos penguins (Spheniscus mendiculus). Biological Conservation. 2009 Jul 19. [Epub ahead of print].

Viruses explain croc deaths
Science Alert - www.sciencealert.com.au (Source: University of Sydney)
23 Jul 2009
Photo credit: iStockphoto

In a breakthrough in understanding crocodile disease University of Sydney scientists have discovered the genetic profile of a group of viruses in crocodile genes that are not found in alligators or other like reptiles.

The discovery of these endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), to be documented in the upcoming Journal of Virology, means that scientists can examine whether they trigger disease in crocodiles.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>>Reintroduced Chinese Alligators Now Multiplying In The Wild In China

Ocean Health Plays Vital Role In Coral Reef Recovery
ScienceDaily - www.sciencedaily.com (Source: University of California - San Diego)
21 Jul 2009
Photo credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego

The new research study led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego suggests that by improving overall ocean health, corals are better able to recover from bleaching events, which occur when rising sea temperatures force corals to expel their symbiotic algae, known as zooxanthellae.

Coral bleaching is a phenomenon that is expected to increase in frequency as global climate change increases ocean temperatures worldwide.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

OTHER WILDLIFE RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of Ushuaia - www.ushuaia.com

• Australia: Who are the killers of penguins? [translated]
• Almost extinct Galapagos tortoise mates at 90
• New scourge afflicting Michigan’s whitetailed heard [Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease]
• Male chromosome facing extinction
• They found three dead whales in Península Valdés [translated] - Chubut Province, Argentina - Map It
• Ganges River Dolphin population falls below 300, faces new threat from oil exploration
• Dead crow tests positive for West Nile Virus; first in 09 - Middlesex-London, Ontario, Canada - Map It
• 'Long-haired' Water Molds Are The Most Virulent

Climate Change

• Climate change: Bye-bye, black sheep?
• Fish are shrinking in response to global warming: study
• King Crabs Go Deep To Avoid Hot Water

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Browse complete Digest publication library here.

IS711-based real-time PCR assay as a tool for detection of Brucella spp. in wild boars and comparison with bacterial isolation and serology
BMC Veterinary Research. 2009 Jul; 5:22
V Hinic et al.

Prions are secreted in milk from clinically normal scrapie-exposed sheep
J Virol. 2009 Jun 3. [Epub ahead of print]
BC Maddison et al.

Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity [book overview]

The Effects of West Nile Virus on the Reproductive Success and Overwinter Survival of Eastern Bluebirds in Alabama
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2009 Jul 9. [Epub ahead of print]
GE Hill et al.

Wildlife Research
Volume 36 Number 5

Journal of Wildlife Management - August 2009
Volume 73, Issue 6

Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Biotransformation Enzymes in Three Species of Sea Turtles from the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2009 Jul 22
KL Richardson et al.

TOP STORIES

Dead Sea Animals Stink Up the Beach
NBC Bay Area News - www.nbcbayarea.com
20 Jul 2009
L Salisbury
Photo credit: Josh Keppel
Area: California, USA

. . . Scientists are still trying to figure out why so many sea lions are coming ashore. Sphorer has noticed an increase in 1-year-old sea lions washing ashore injured or malnourished.

“It's sad,” said Martucelli. “You used to never see dead sea lions at the beach.”

Not all of the stories of sick sea lions have a sad ending. Over the weekend, experts with the Marine Mammal Center released six rehabilitated sea lions back into the San Francisco Bay, along with other sea birds and creatures that they have nursed back to health.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>>Sea Lion Scampers Into Sausalito Intersection

Zambezi fish disease threatens livelihood of many Zambians
EarthTimes - www.earthtimes.org
21 Jul 2009
Area: Zambezi River Valley, Africa - Map It

A killer disease is decimating fish stocks in the Zambezi River Valley, threatening the food security and livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people in an area shared by seven southern African countries, a United Nations agency said Tuesday. The most affected country is Zambia, where two thirds of the Zambezi River Basin lies, the Rome-based Food an Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.

. . . The disease, known as Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome, or EUS, is caused by the fungus Aphanomyces invadans, which forms ugly lesions on fish and has a high rate of mortality.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

OTHER WILDLIFE RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of Associated Press

• Dog wet nurse saves panda cubs in China
• Snakes on the glades – Florida launches mass python hunt
• Prairie dogs fighting plague [South Dakota]
• Baltimore Heads Off Bird Soap Threat
• Tests show no foreign virus in diseased carp [Virginia]
• Diversification of West Nile virus in a subtropical region
• Group hunting for solutions [CWD, Wisconsin]
• Hurricane Ike's Effects On Waterways, Fish Contamination Analyzed
• Infectious salmon anemia - Chile (02): origin
• Don't Blame Birds for 1918 Flu

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Browse complete Digest publication library here.

Journal of Wildlife Diseases - July 2009
Vol. 45, No. 3

Large-scale spatio-temporal shifts in the diet of a predator mediated by an emerging infectious disease of its main prey
Journal of Biogeography. 2009 Mar; 36 (8): 1502 - 1515
Marcos Moleón et al.

Sea ice-associated diet change increases the levels of chlorinated and brominated contaminants in polar bears
Environ Sci Technol. 2009 Jun 15;43(12):4334-9
MA Mckinney et al.

Identifying the species-origin of faecal droppings used for avian influenza virus surveillance in wild-birds
J Clin Virol. 2009 Jul 13. [Epub ahead of print]
PP Cheung et al.

MLVA-16 typing of 295 marine mammal Brucella isolates from different animal and geographic origins identifies 7 major groups within Brucella ceti and Brucella pinnipedialis
BMC Microbiology. 2009 Jul 20. [Epub ahead of print]
M Maquart et al.

TOP STORIES

Diseased-deer deaths spread
Mail Tribune - www.mailtribune.com
20 Jul 2009
M Freeman
Photo credit: Jamie Lusch
Area: Jackson County, Oregon, USA - Map It

Black-tailed deer are turning up dead in several rural Jackson County communities in what wildlife officials fear is a new outbreak of a disease associated with backyard feeding that killed hundreds of area deer earlier this decade.

Confirmed and suspected cases of the adenovirus have been found recently outside of Ashland, in the Colestine Valley, rural Gold Hill and outside of Jacksonville, in the highest numbers since 2002, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Reported Wildlife Mortality Events to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center Updated
USGS National Wildlife Health Center
20 Jul 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 Jul 12, 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

Vampire Bats Biting People
National Geographic News - news.nationalgeographic.com
16 Jul 2009
Area: Peru

Vampire bats in Peru are increasingly biting people, and a National Geographic Society researcher is trying to find ways to stem the resulting spread of deadly rabies.

. . . But increasingly bats are targeting humans and the encounters are turning deadly. The bats are blamed for rabies outbreaks in Peru and National Geographic grantee Daniel Streiker is researching the environmental causes and extent of the disease.

>>>FULL TRANSCRIPT AND VIDEO

Related News
>>>2 rabid bats discovered in city of Napa

Night Stalker: White-Nose Fungus in Bats--Why It's Our Problem, Too
Scientific American - www.scientificamerican.com
Aug 2009
Area: United States

. . . Meanwhile the most visible response to WNS has been to declare caves and mines off-limits to visitors. . . . David Blehert of the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis., and his colleagues are working to culture the fungus from the floors and walls of caves, to determine whether clothing and equipment could spread the fungus.

But if the syndrome spreads primarily from bat to bat—as seems the case—closures will have little effect. Unless more answers appear soon, draconian measures such as killing all the bats in infected caves may be all that can keep the spread of WNS from rewriting the ecological rules.

>>>FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>>Local cave explorers raising money to find what's killing bats
>>>Mosquitoes 1, Bats 0

OTHER WILDLIFE RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of David Western/ScienceDaily

• Kenya's National Parks Not Free From Wildlife Declines
• Veterinarian urges FG to fund research into zoonotic diseases [Nigeria]
• Cleaning up Great Lakes gets new attention
• Unusual Effects On Cell Infected By Virus Found In Boiling Acidic Spring In Yellowstone National Park
• Coyote Valley vital as wildlife corridor
• Animal/Human Disease Center Discusses Mission
• HOT ISSUE: Should we deliberately move species?

Interesting and/or Good News

• Saharan Lizard Swims Through Sand
• Bird Watchers And Wildlife Viewers Boost Florida’s Economy
• Top 10 Surprising Results of Global Warming
• 2 jaguars released in Mexico, but 1 dies

TOP STORIES

Energetic Bottleneck Factors In Catastrophic Winter Seabird Losses
Science Daily - www.sciencedaily.com
17 Jul 2009

It's a terrible sight: hundreds of dead seabirds washed up on the seashore. These catastrophic events occur in the winter and are known as winter wrecks. No one knows why the birds perish, and it is almost impossible to study the animals out in stormy winter seas to find out how they meet their fate.

With the birds' tough life style in mind, Jérôme Fort and David Grémillet from the CNRS Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive in France decided to try to estimate the energetic demands placed on two alcid species (little auks and Brünnich's guillemots) by their aquatic lifestyle to find out whether battling the harsh conditions may simply be too energetically demanding for the little seafarers. Fort and his colleagues publish their discovery that winter wreck victims may not be able to eat enough to survive the harsh winter conditions in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article

Fort, J., Porter, W. P. and Grémillet, D. Thermodynamic modelling predicts energetic bottleneck for seabirds wintering in the northwest Atlantic. J. Exp. Biol., 212, 2483-2490

Greater Yellowstone Elk-wolf Study Shows Elk Having Fewer Calves Due To Changes In Nutrition
Science Daily - www.sciencedaily.com
17 Jul 2009

Wolves have caused elk in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to change their behavior and foraging habits so much so that herds are having fewer calves, mainly due to changes in their nutrition, according to a new study published by Montana State University researchers.

During winter, nearly all elk in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem are losing weight, said Scott Creel, ecology professor at MSU, and lead author on the study which appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Essentially, they are slowly starving," Creel said. "Despite grazing and browsing during the winter, elk suffer a net loss of weight. If winter continued, they would all die, because dormant plants provide limited protein and energy, and snow makes it more difficult to graze efficiently."

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Bee Colony Collapse Disorder: New Bait Lures Varroa Mite To Its Doom
Science Daily - www.sciencedaily.com
15 Jul 2009

Varroa mites could literally be walking into a trap—thanks to a new attractant developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Gainesville, Fla.

The 1/16-inch long parasite, Varroa destructor, is a top pest of honey bees nationwide, hindering the beneficial insects' ability to pollinate almonds, blueberries, apples, zucchini and many other flowering crops.

At the ARS Chemistry Research Unit in Gainesville, research leader Peter Teal and colleagues are testing a bait-and-kill approach using sticky boards and natural chemical attractants called semiochemicals.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

More Bee News

>>> Bumblebees get some help with habitat grant

>>> Replacing the Honeybee

Invasive Species Threaten Critical Habitats, Oyster Among Victims
Science Daily - www.sciencedaily.com
17 Jul 2009
Location: California, USA

A study of oyster reefs in a once-pristine California coastal estuary found them devastated by invasive Atlantic Coast crabs and snails, providing new evidence of the consequences when human activities move species beyond their natural borders.

Led by marine biologist David L. Kimbro, now of The Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory , the study shows that in Tomales Bay , half the population of California's native Olympia oyster has perished because its habitat has fallen victim to the dysfunctional relationship between native species and non-native ones accidentally introduced.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

More News on Invasive Species

>>> Aquatic Invasive Species Still Threaten Lakes [includes audio broadcast]

TOP READ LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

1. Avian Zoonotic Diseases: Work Smart, Stay Safe [video presentation]
2. Zoonotic Diseases (Mammalian): Work Smart, Stay Safe [video presentation]
3. DEP: 90% of Hibernia Mine's bats are dead
4. Vets learn how to track disease
5. Disease runs riot as species disappear
6. Webinar Presentation on White-Nosed Syndrome [video presentation]
7. Senate hearing focuses on threats to wildlife
8. Bird Population Declines In Northern Europe Explained By Thiamine (vitamin B1) Deficiency
9. Mutant fish spawn cry for chemical ban
10. Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife and Subcommittee on Oversight joint hearing entitled, “Threats to Native Wildlife Species” [webcast]

Publications

1. Applying the Theory of Island Biogeography to Emerging Pathogens: Toward Predicting the Sources of Future Emerging Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Diseases
2. Wild birds of declining European species are dying from a thiamine deficiency syndrome
3. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine [Table of Contents]

OTHER WILDLIFE RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of The Guardian

• Week in Wildlife [photo gallery]
• Bovine brucellosis - Fiji - positive. serology, official [Viti Levu, Fiji - Map It]
• Sea Otter Funding Dries Up, Needs $40K
• Don't Blame Birds for 1918 Flu
• Lyme disease cases rise as West Nile virus falls

Fish Disease News

• Deadly disease infects fish; Barron County remains okay [Wisconsin, USA]
• NY investigates river's fish die-off [New York, USA - Map It ]
• Concerns over Fish Virus in Oakland Co. [Michigan, USA]

Bat News

• Maine firm to contribute research on bat syndrome
• Bat-killing disease remains a mystery
• Radar beams could protect bats from wind turbines

Interesting News

• Dolphin research answers questions about these playful, important marine mammals
• Moths Jam Bat Sonar, Throw the Predators Off Course
• Behind the Scenes: How Penguins & Seals Survive Deep Dives

In the Spotlight - Report on Wildlife Disease Investigation and Research Activities

Report to the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center

As announced in the July 10th posting last week, Friday posts will showcase an assortment of interesting or useful nuggets of information. Today in the spotlight is a highly informative report from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC).

It provides a concise summary of wildlife disease investigations and research activities:

• Field Investigation Team Summaries: September 2008 to June 2009
• Research progress on white-nose syndrome of bats
• Oral vaccination of prairie dogs against plague via ingestion of vaccine-laden baits
• H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
• Modeling the Dynamics of Avian Influenza in Wild Birds and Potential Transmission with Domestic Fowl
• Experimental Infection of American Kestrels with H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
• Experimental Infection of Dunlin with H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
• Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Research

>>> TO REPORT

TOP STORIES

Bird Population Declines In Northern Europe Explained By Thiamine (vitamin B1) Deficiency
Science Daily - www.sciencedaily.com
14 Jul 2009
Location: Baltic Sea, Europe - Map It



Wild birds of several species are dying in large numbers from a paralytic disease with hitherto unknown cause in the Baltic Sea area. A research team at Stockholm University, Sweden, led by Associate Professor Lennart Balk, has demonstrated strong relationships between this disease, breeding failure, and advanced thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency in eggs, young, and adults.

. . . The authors’ primary aim has been to demonstrate the relationship between the paralytic disease and thiamine deficiency. Also important has been to form an idea about the geographical distribution of the thiamine deficiency syndrome and its distribution among species. Advanced thiamine deficiency was demonstrated in the Baltic Sea area, but incipient thiamine deficiency was found also in Iceland.

>>>> FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article

Balk et al. Wild birds of declining European species are dying from a thiamine deficiency syndrome. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2009.

First remote, underwater detection of harmful algae, toxins
Science Daily - www.sciencedaily.com
14 Jul 2009

Scientists at NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have successfully conducted the first remote detection of a harmful algal species and its toxin below the ocean's surface. The achievement was recently reported in the June issue of Oceanography.

This achievement represents a significant milestone in NOAA's effort to monitor the type and toxicity of harmful algal blooms (HABs). HABs are considered to be increasing not only in their global distribution, but also in the frequency, duration, and severity of their effects. HABs damage coastal ecosystem health and pose threats to humans as well as marine life. Climate change is expected to exacerbate this trend, since many critical processes that govern HABs dynamics, such as water temperature and ocean circulation, are influenced by climate.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Cited Journal Article

C. Scholin et al. Remote Detection of Marine Microbes, Small Invertebrates, Harmful Algae, and Biotoxins using the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP). Oceanography. 2009 Jun; 22(2) [no abstract]

First animal case of West Nile found in Alamo: Dead scrub jay tests positive for virus
Danville Weekly News - www.danvilleweekly.com
14 Jul 2009
G Gillette
Location: Alamo, California, USA - Map It

Contra Costa County health officials are keeping an eye out on reported bird deaths, following the first confirmed case of West Nile virus. A dead Western scrub jay found in Alamo in late June has tested positive for the virus.

Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District Public Affairs Director Deborah Bass said that they received the report on June 28. Bass said initially the bird tested negative for the virus, but standard procedure is to recheck any negative reading with an outside agency. In this case, the check showed a positive reading for West Nile. The case was confirmed July 8.

The bird death is the first documented case of West Nile found in the county so far in 2009. She said that her office has received nearly 600 reports of dead birds so far this year. Of those, 79 have been brought in for testing, with only one positive result.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

More West Nile Virus News

More Birds Test Positive for West Nile Virus [California, USA - Map It]

Honeybee research funding must increase, MPs warn
The Guardian - www.guardian.co.uk
14 Jul 2009
A Vaughan



The government must fund more research into the alarming decline of honey bees, an influential committee of MPs said today.

The cross-party public accounts committee said that the honeybee's role in pollinating crops is worth £200m to the agricultural economy but that colonies were declining at an "alarming" rate. It is concerned that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs risked "diluting" funding for research into the problem.

Government figures show honeybee numbers have fallen by 10-15% in the last two years, but a survey by the British Beekeepers Association (BBA) suggested as many as one in three of the UK's 240-250,000 colonies did not survive the winter and spring of 2008.

>>> FULL ARTICLE

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of Science Daily

• Study: High Tick Disease Rates
• Volunteers sought to locate bat roosts
• Feds Win Ruling Over Elk Feedgrounds in Wyoming
• DNA Patterns Of Microbes

Bovine Tuberculosis News

• Farmers 'key' to badger TB trial [bovine tuberculosis]
• BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS - USA (10): (INDIANA) CERVID, BOVINE [ProMed user comment]

Interesting and/or Good News

• Reintroduced Chinese Alligators Now Multiplying In The Wild In China
• Sex began as parasite defense

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Browse complete Digest publication library here.

Colony Collapse Disorder Progress Report 2009 [pdf]

Ultraviolet-ozone treatment reduces levels of disease-associated prion protein and prion infectivity
BMC Res Notes. 2009 Jul 6;2(1):121. [Epub ahead of print]
CJ Johnson et al.

Immunogenicity and Safety of Recombinant Rabies Viruses Used for Oral Vaccination of Stray Dogs and Wildlife
Zoonoses Public Health. 2009 May 20. [Epub ahead of print]
M Faber et al.

Avian Diseases - Ahead of Print Articles

• Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus subtype H5N1 in Mute swans (Cygnus olor) in the Central Bosnia
• Low Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Subtypes Isolated from Wild Birds in the United States, 2006-2008
• Single and Combination Diagnostic Test Efficiency and Cost Analysis for Detection and Isolation of Avian Influenza Virus from Wild Bird Cloacal Swabs

Migratory status is not related to the susceptibility to HPAIV H5N1 in an insectivorous passerine species
PLoS One. 2008 Jul 9;4(7):e6170
D Kalthoff et al.

Survival of Avian H5N1 Influenza a Viruses in Calliphora nigribarbis (Diptera: Calliphoridae)
Journal of Medical Entomology 46(4):852-855. 2009
K Sawabe et al