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1. Chronic Wasting Disease Spreading In Northern Illinois
By Jenna Dooley
NorthernPublicRadio.org
September 22, 2015
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal neurological disease threatening white-tailed deer. It was first documented in Illinois in 2002 near Roscoe. There have been more than 500 cases since then. CWD has become established in areas near the Fox and Illinois rivers, and more recently in Stephenson and Ogle counties in northern Illinois. Doug Dufford is the state's Wildlife Disease Program Manager, and says the infection rate in Illinois is about 1 percent.
"Disease modelers that have been looking at this for many years have suggested that CWD has the potential to, if not eliminate deer, reduce populations to exceedingly low levels."
Dufford says there are no reliable vaccines to prevent the disease. It has not been shown to be transmissible to humans. Hunters are asked to alert authorities when suspect animals are found.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has scheduled a series of public meetings to provide information about the disease.
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2. Negative EHV-1 test lifts 4-H horse quarantine [MN]
St. Cloud Times Staff Report
St. Cloud Times
September 22, 2015
The test for EHV-1 came back negative for a horse that was put down at the Minnesota 4-H Horse Show on Friday, 4-H'ers who exhibited at the show and 4-H leaders learned late Tuesday afternoon by email.
Stearns County 4-H Program Coordinator Sara Budde confirmed receipt of the email from Brad Rugg, director for state fair and 4-H animal science.
The news lifts the three-week quarantine on horses that were on the state fairgrounds at the same time as the horse from Clay County.
The family chose to euthanize that horse based on the animal's neurological symptoms and its poor prognosis. The symptoms indicated the horse could have had equine herpesvirus 1. The virus is contagious.
Owners were instructed to take the temperature of their horses twice a day.
According to a University of Minnesota Extension news release, tests were conducted through the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
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3. Research finds "sneaky" and undetected flu virus in pigs
By PW Reporters
Pig World
September 23, 2015
New research has found that a flu virus strain that occurs in horses, dogs, birds and seals, can go undetected in host pigs, raising concern among scientists over a possible increase in the risk of the virus being capable of spreading to humans.
The finding, which relates to the H3N8 strain, comes from research carried out at Pirbright Institute in Surrey by Dr Maria Montoya.
Her work has shown for the first time that two different strains of the H3N8 influenza A virus are able to infect and replicate in pigs; one isolated from seals and an avian strain circulating in poultry in the US.
Dr Montoya's work also revealed that when exposed to the standard inhibition test, used to detect flu in livestock, H3N8 remained undetected in pigs.
"It has been shown that the H1N1 strain that caused the 2009 (human) flu pandemic had been previously circulating in the pig population," said Dr Montoya. "With H3N8 acting as a sneaky virus in pigs and able to go undetected through standard testing, it is not difficult to imagine that it could be a candidate for future outbreaks."
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4. Texas Confirms 19 Equine West Nile Virus Cases
By Edited Press Release
TheHorse.com
September 23, 2015
The Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) reported Sept. 23 that a recent slew of positive West Nile virus (WNV) tests have increased the total number of equine cases in that state to 19.
As of Sept. 18, the TVMDL confirmed that a horse in each of the following counties has tested positive for WNV: Houston County, Atascosa County, Jefferson County (two cases), Roberts County, Sterling County,Parker County, Randall County, Liberty County, Scurry County, Hutchinson County, Taylor County, Nolan County, Trinity County, Robertson County, Midland County, Orange County, Harris County, Victoria County.
The affected horses range in age from a yearling to more than 10 years old. As with earlier reported positive cases, the majority of the affected horses were not previously vaccinated against WNV.
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5. Wildlife Services Distribute Oral Rabies Vaccine Baits For Raccoons [TN]
The Chattanoogan
September 18, 2015
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services will be distributing oral rabies vaccine baits in portions of east Tennessee to vaccinate raccoons and prevent the spread of rabies in the state.
Residents of Bradley, Carter, Cocke, Franklin, Greene, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hawkins, Lincoln, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Polk, Sequatchie, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington Counties will see lowflying fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft and also slow moving vehicles distributing rabies vaccine by air and ground from Sept. 25-Oct. 20. ORV baits are small white plastic packets that are coated in fishmeal crumbles or inserted into a fishmeal block and placed in suitable raccoon habitat.
ORV baits should be left alone whenever possible. However, if found where children or pets play, they should be moved into a fencerow, woodlot, ditch or other raccoon habitat with a gloved hand. Damaged baits should be bagged and disposed of in the trash. Be sure to wash hands thoroughly after skin contact with any ORV bait.
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6. Cornell vet school names diagnostic center chief
Lois Wilson
The Ithaca Journal
September 23, 2015
Dr. Fran�ois Elvinger has been named executive director of the New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine, the university announced Wednesday.
He will also serve as assistant dean for diagnostic operations. His appointment will begin Oct. 1.
Dr. Elvinger has been a member of the faculty at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech since 1997, most recently as a professor of veterinary epidemiology and of production management medicine.
He currently serves as president of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians.
He earned a veterinary medicine degree at Hannover Veterinary School in Germany in 1983 and a Ph.D. in dairy science from the University of Florida in 1990.
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7. MSU grad honored at Emmys for bison documentary
By Gail Schontzler Chronicle Staff Writer
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
September 21, 2015
Millions of viewers of Sunday night's Emmy awards got an inkling of the quality of Montana State University's filmmaking program when graduate Eddie Roqueta was honored for winning the College Television Award for best documentary.
Roqueta, one of two students recognized briefly on the televised awards show, won for his 2014 film "Silencing the Thunder," on the controversy over the state of Montana's efforts to control and kill Yellowstone National Park's bison.
Dennis Aig, co-director of the master's of fine arts in science and natural history filmmaking, called the prime-time mention of MSU "a milestone."
"We're obviously very proud of Eddie," Aig said Monday from Los Angeles. "It was very exciting for the whole university and obviously the film school."
Aig said Roqueta's documentary was a winner because it was artistically done and had a big impact. While many Montanans are familiar with the issue, it's unfamiliar to many people all over the world. He called it "a very impressive accomplishment."
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