TOP STORIES 
Over the past four years, a mysterious white-nose fungus has struck hibernating North American bats.
Populations in affected caves and mines can experience death rates of more than 80 percent over a winter.
In desperation, an informal interagency task force of scientists from state and federal agencies has just launched an experimental program to fight the plague. Their weapon: a drug ordinarily used to treat athlete’s foot.
Science News - www.sciencenews.org
22 March 2010
J Raloff
Photo credit: S McCormick
22 March 2010
J Raloff
Photo credit: S McCormick
White-Nose Syndrome: New Locations in Canada, Maryland and Tennessee ConfirmedThe USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) has confirmed that samples from bats collected at five new locations, three in Ontario, Canada, one in Maryland and a new site in Tennessee are infected with the fungus Geomyces destructans, the likely cause of white-nose syndrome (WNS).
This is the first time the disease has been documented in Canada and Maryland. Tennessee was only recently added to the list of new states with confirmed cases of WNS in bats (WHB 2010-01), bringing the total number of states that have confirmed WNS to 11.
The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) announced the detection of WNS at three Ontario sites March 23 at: Current Status of White Nose Syndrome in Ontario.
USGS National Wildlife Health Center Wildlife Health Bulletin
25 March 2010
Photo courtesy of Orangeville Citizen
Location: Kirkland Lake - Map It
, Bancroft-Minden Map It, and Flesherton Map It, Ontario, Canada
25 March 2010
Photo courtesy of Orangeville Citizen
Location: Kirkland Lake - Map It
, Bancroft-Minden Map It, and Flesherton Map It, Ontario, CanadaMore Bat News
>>> Bat killing disease discovered in Canada
>>> Disease forcing bats out [Ontario, Canada]
>>> Dunbar Cave closed over fungus [Tennessee, USA]
>>> Bats at risk
>>> Disease, wind turbines menace bat population
>>> Disease forcing bats out [Ontario, Canada]
>>> Dunbar Cave closed over fungus [Tennessee, USA]
>>> Bats at risk
>>> Disease, wind turbines menace bat population
New disease threatens parrotsNew Zealand’s endangered parrots could be under further threat from a new genotype of a virulent disease that scientists at the University of Canterbury have recently helped identify.
The scientists are calling for urgent action to protect native parrot populations and are calling on conservation authorities to monitor the incidence of infection.
Dr Arvind Varsani, Dr Melanie Massaro and Dr Brigitta Kurenbach (Biological Sciences) have been working with Massey University PhD candidate Luis Ortiz-Catedral, who has been monitoring and documenting the incidence of beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) in the endangered New Zealand parrot, the red-fronted parakeet.
Science Alert - www.sciencealert.com [source: University of Canterbury]
24 March 2010
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto
24 March 2010
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto
Journal Article Cited
A new isolate of beak and feather disease virus from endemic wild red-fronted parakeets in New Zealand. Archives of Virology. Published online 24 February 2010.
Related Journal Article
A unique isolate of beak and feather disease virus isolated from budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) in South Africa. Archives of Virology. March 2010. 155(3): 435-439.
A new isolate of beak and feather disease virus from endemic wild red-fronted parakeets in New Zealand. Archives of Virology. Published online 24 February 2010.
Related Journal Article
A unique isolate of beak and feather disease virus isolated from budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) in South Africa. Archives of Virology. March 2010. 155(3): 435-439.
Disease may have killed whaleThe male of a rarely seen whale species that beached itself on Maui may have died of disease, a marine mammal expert said yesterday.
Lab tests will confirm whether the death was a "natural process," but the results will not be available for some months, said David Schofield, marine mammal response coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Witnesses reported the whale thrashing about violently at Hamoa Beach near Hana on Monday afternoon. Within 10 minutes, they said, the whale stopped moving, according to Schofield.
Star-Bulletin - www.starbulletin.com
25 March 2010
Photo courtesy of NOAA Fisheries
Location: Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii, USA - Map It
25 March 2010
Photo courtesy of NOAA Fisheries
Location: Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii, USA - Map It
TOP READ LINKS FROM LAST WEEK
News
- High Arctic Species on Thin Ice
- Researchers Turn Mosquitoes Into Flying Vaccinators
- The week in wildlife
- Mysterious bat-killing illness previously seen in the U.S. now in Ontario
- Flat-headed cat of southeast Asia is now endangered
- Internet is biggest threat to endangered species, say conservationists
- City pollution harms sea turtles
- Wolf-born hydatid disease: Fact versus fallacy
- Supreme Court Kicks Quickly Spreading Asian Carp Off Its Menu
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service invests $8.9 million in Texas
- Pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment: A critical review of the evidence for health effects in fish
- Avian Diseases
- The Wildlife Society: Wildlife Professional - March 2010
OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: J Hordle/Rex Features
The week in wildlife
- Mountain goat numbers holding steady [Idaho, USA]
- Ask the Experts: Elizabeth Capaldi Evans on bees
- More tropical algae found in Murray outbreak [Murray River, Victoria, Australia]
- Central Africa: Gorillas Could Disappear in 15 Years, UN Agency Warns
U.N. Wildlife Summit
- Trade beats conservation at U.N. wildlife talks
- Factbox: Trade decisions by U.N. wildlife talks
- Fishy business: How the elephants’ success hurt the bluefin tuna
Chronic Wasting Disease
- Report shows CWD still a concern [Wisconsin, USA]
- Hunters key in controlling disease in deer [North Dakota, USA]
Huh, That's Interesting!
