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6-19-2002
(REPORT 1) I believe I already updated folks on the spread of CWD into Jefferson Co, Colorado, but below is a newspaper report on the findings. Jefferson Co is due west of Denver. This is an expansion of the endemic area, and represents the southern most extension in CO.
Further testing of cohort and daughter cattle to the BSE-infected cow found in Israel (confirmed the beginning of June) have found no further cases of BSE. Israel plans, though, to continue with its emergency program for dealing with BSE to "ensure beyond any doubt that each cow reaching the consumer will be completely safe". The program is expected to cost about $12 million US. Some countries have banned importation of Israeli beef.
FMD activity is active or recently active in several countries in southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe all have active areas of FMS. Swaziland had cases in late 2001. The South Korean outbreak which started about a month ago continues and new cases have expanded the known infected area. As you may be aware, the World Cup soccer matches are being played in that country and many other countries are concerned that athletic events may contribute to the spread of the disease. The recent tentative finding of FMD in a dairy cow would be the first case in bovine species in this outbreak.
(REPORT 2) In an interesting case of zoonotic disease moving from humans to wildlife human TB has been transmitted to mongoose and meerkats in the Kalahari region of Botswana. Although tourists are blamed, the source can only be inferred. I visited one of the meerkat research sites last summer in the Kalahari. Researchers there habituate the meerkats using food treats in order to weigh, capture and collar individual animals. Field technicians stay in close contact with meerkat groups throughout the day and observe behavior through such habituation. Many different people come and go - an ideal way for human-wildlife disease transmission.
West Nile Virus continues its now annual appearance in the east. To recap, WNV is an avian virus that is particularly lethal to the corvid group. Transmission is by mosquitoes from infected birds to other hosts and the virus can cause encephalitis. Both humans and other animals such as horses are incidental hosts. Although horses are the most common non-human, non-avian species affected, cats, bats, chipmunks, skunks, squirrels and domestic rabbits have been infected. Neither humans nor horses get high enough viral titers to act as a reservoir or source of infection for other humans or animals. The estimated case fatality rate for human WNV infection has been estimated by CDC at 1 fatality per 1000 infections. No human cases of WNV have been reported for 2002. The furthest west the virus has been detected this year is Louisiana and Illinois in birds. Birds, being the primary hosts of the virus and most monitored by states, are the best source of information on the distribution of WNV. The USGS-CINDI distribution maps, through June 17, show the following information:
In addition, a single case has been reported in Ontario.
Thomas J. Roffe, PhD, DVM
USGS-BRD
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center
FWP Bldg, 1400 S. 19th Ave.
Bozeman, MT 59718-5496
T: 406-994-5789
F: 406-994-4090
Cell: 406-539-4955
Supporting Documents:
Date: 5 Jun 2002
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Rocky Mountain News 5 Jun 2002 [edited]<http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN
A deer found dead in Jefferson County has tested
positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), pushing the fatal wildlife illness
to its farthest point south and moving it deeper into the metro area.
The discovery validates long-held concerns that CWD could
push out from its endemic area of northeastern Colorado and move easily through
more concentrated herds along the Front Range.
A landowner west of Highway 93, near Leyden, found the deer
dead on his property last winter, then submitted the head to state wildlife
officials for CWD testing. Laboratory backlogs prevented the animal's brain
tissue from analysis until recently.
"This underscores that . . . no part of our state is
apparently immune from CWD," Gov. Bill Owens said. "All levels of
government must work together to stem the spread of this disease."
Tuesday, the Colorado Division of Wildlife said 3
road-kill deer found in southwestern Boulder tested positive for the disease.
That, along with an earlier discovery of an infected deer in the area, brings
the total CWD-positive animals in that locale to 4 out of about 40 sampled, or
10 percent, said Todd Malmsbury,
the Division spokesman.
Division officials believe the dead Jefferson County animal,
a mule deer buck, probably died of the CWD. Analysis of the brain indicated the
deer was in the latter stages of the sickness that eats away at the brain,
causing animals to stagger and starve.
Boulder County was previously believed to be the
southernmost extension of the disease. In March [2002], Owens urged Boulder
County commissioners to reverse a policy limiting division biologists to
trapping and darting -- but not shooting -- deer on county lands to contain the
disease.
The infected Jefferson County deer was found in an
area where the deer herd is estimated at 7000 to 7800, the Division said. That
herd straddles 2 so-called "game management units" that cover northern
Jefferson and southern Boulder counties.
What's not clear is whether the Jefferson County finding
means local deer are infected, or whether this deer may have moved south from
infected herds in Boulder County, Malmsbury said.
On the downside, if other nearby deer are infected, the delay in testing means the disease has had more than 6 months to spread without notice. Malmsbury said the delay in testing was due to shifting testing priorities, including the discovery of chronic wasting disease on Colorado's Western Slope in March [2002].
Date: 7 Jun
2002X-Sybari-Space:
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: News24.com 6 Jun 2002 09:37
- (SA)
<http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/Science_Nature/0,1113,2-13-46_1195604,00.html>
Ecotourism could be harming wildlife
Ecotourism may be endangering wildlife by spreading human
diseases to animals, and is probably responsible for 3 outbreaks of tuberculosis
(TB) in mongooses and meerkats in Africa, according to a study. Scientists in
Botswana's Chobe national park have documented how the human pathogen was passed
on to mongooses in the popular park and followed an outbreak that killed
meerkats in the Kalahari Desert.
Kathleen Alexander, Botswana's Senior Wildlife
Veterinary Officer, and her team believe the mongooses picked up the illness
from contaminated rubbish heaps in the park. They suspect the meerkats were
infected from local people because no animals in the region are known carriers
of human TB. Ecotourism is a major source of revenue for wildlife conservation
in Africa but Alexander thinks contact between the animals and humans should be
minimized to reduce the threat of infection.
The Aids pandemic, which has swept through Africa, may also be contributing to the problem. People suffering from HIV/Aids and TB are more likely to infect animals because they shed more of the bacteria. More than a third of Botswana's population is afflicted with HIV. "We need to be addressing the threat that humans pose to wildlife," Alexander told the magazine.
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://biology.usgs.gov/cro/CWD6-19-02.htm
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