I was watching a kids show about the environment and the Great Lakes. In the show, the kids interviewed a marine biologist, who told them all about a fish disease called VHS that was killing fish in the Great Lakes. The segment concluded with a catchy tune about stopping the spread of the disease by telling fishers what they should do, like wash their boats, boots, etc. when through fishing at one spot or lake. It seemed scary that this was the best we could do to stop spreading this awful disease which was threatening the extinction of many fish species. The government was asking people to please wash their stuff. It seems to me a better solution would be to just make fishing in those areas off limits, period. Anyway, when I was looking up information about VHS (Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia) I stumbled over a whole lot more diseases affecting wild things. The following are just a small sample of what I discovered. I didn’t even touch on the bee colony collapse problem occurring right now. I had to stop my search as I was getting depressed. BEHOLD: Amphibians and Turtles: Ranavirus nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/other_diseases/ranavirus.jsp USGS scientists have isolated ranaviruses associated with die-offs involving more than 20 species of amphibians and turtles. Massive die-offs of amphibians are often caused by ranaviruses. USGS scientists have isolated ranaviruses associated with die-offs in over 25 states involving more than 20 species of turtles and amphibians in mortality events ranging from one to thousands of individuals affected. Some events may involve a single species, others may involve multiple species. Frogs and salamanders in the same pond, for example, may die from ranaviral infections at the same time. Ranavirus-caused die-offs in amphibians have occurred on private, State, and Federal lands, including several National Parks and Wildlife Refuges. Many of the amphibian species involved in die-offs are fairly common and widespread in the United States, but some are either declining in number or are already threatened or endangered. BATS: White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/white-nose_syndrome/ White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emergent disease of hibernating bats that has spread from the northeastern to the central United States at an alarming rate. Since the winter of 2007-2008, millions of insect-eating bats in 22 states and five Canadian provinces have died from this devastating disease. The disease is named for the white fungus, Geomyces destructans, that infects skin of the muzzle, ears, and wings of hibernating bats. CORAL: Cyanobacter nwhc.usgs.gov/hfs/Corals.jspa Coral reefs worldwide are under tremendous stress primarily due to human activities along the coasts. While climate change, overfishing and coastal development have been implicated as a major cause of coral reef decline, diseases seem to play an increasing role. FISH: VHS Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Special Notice: VHS found in Lake Superior dnr.state.mn.us/fish_diseases/vhs.html Disease found in Easter Great Lakes and now moving West. Has caused fish die offs VHS has caused large-scale mortality in black crappie in Budd Lake (Michigan) bluegill in Budd Lake (Michigan) common carp in Lake Ontario freshwater drum in Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and Lake Winnebago (New York) gizzard shad in Lake St. Clair, St. Clair River and Lake Erie Great Lakes muskellunge in Lake St. Clair round gobyin Lake Ontario white bass in Lake Erie yellow perch in Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair VHS has also been confirmed in smaller fish kills in black crappie bluegill lake whitefish rock bass smallmouth bass walleye KANGAROOS: New Virus Targets Kangaroos news.wildlife.org/wildlife-news/new-research-from-the-journal-of-wildlife-diseases/ For the first time, a herpesvirus that causes disease in eastern gray kangaroos (Marcopus giganteus) has been isolated from a wild population. A team from the University of Melbourne, Australia, determined that the new virus is a genetically distinct alphaherpesvirus and is most similar to the macropodid herpesvirus 2, but displays different characteristics when grown in cell culture and also causes respiratory and neurologic disease symptoms RUMINANTS: *Foot and Mouth Disease nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/other_diseases/foot_and_mouth_disease.jsp Deer species, elk, antelope, caribou, and moose are susceptible, as well as bison, feral pigs, musk oxen, peccaries, and wild sheep. FMD is not known to cause serious illness in humans, and does not infect horses, mules or burros. *CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE cwd-info.org/index.php/fuseaction/about.map Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a contagious neurological disease affecting deer, elk and moose. It causes a characteristic spongy degeneration of the brains of infected animals resulting in emaciation, abnormal behavior, loss of bodily functions and death. SNAKES: Snake Fungal Disease nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/other_diseases/snake_fungal_disease.jsp Snake Fungal Disease (SFD) is an emerging disease in certain populations of wild snakes in the eastern and midwestern United States. While fungal infections were occasionally reported in wild snakes prior to 2006, recently the number of free-ranging snakes with fungal dermatitis submitted to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) and other diagnostic laboratories has been increasing. Laboratory analyses have demonstrated that the fungus Ophidiomyces (formerly Chrysosporium) ophiodiicola is consistently associated with SFD, but often, additional fungi are isolated from affected snakes. At this time, definitive evidence that O. ophiodiicola causes SFD is inconclusive. As its name implies, SFD is only known to afflict snakes. To date, the NWHC has confirmed fungal dermatitis (or the suspected fungal pathogen in association with skin lesions) in wild snakes from nine states, including Illinois, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. However, it is suspected that SFD is more widespread in the United States than is currently documented. Multiple species of snakes have been diagnosed with SFD at the NWHC (see attached figures), including northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon), eastern racer (Coluber constrictor), rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus species complex), timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus), pygmy rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius), and milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum). While mortality has been associated with some cases of SFD, population-level impacts of the disease are not yet widely known and are difficult to assess due to the cryptic and solitary nature of snakes, and a general lack of long-term monitoring data. VULTURES: Die-offs in Pakistan nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/other_diseases/diclofenac.jsp The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) is collaborating on investigations into the cause for decline of the white-backed vulture in Pakistan. Most of these vultures have died from kidney failure. Residue analysis in wild vultures from Pakistan and toxicity experiments have shown vultures, unlike mammals, to be extremely sensitive to diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, commonly used by veterinarians on agricultural animals in Pakistan.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Jul 2013 09:38:27 +0000
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