SCWDS BRIEFS: Volume 21, Number 3 (October 2005)

H5N1 Influenza Virus in Wild Birds: A Fact Sheet Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus H5N1 and Wild Birds What are avian influenza viruses? What is a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus? What is “Bird Flu” and what is “HPAI H5N1”? What do we know about avian influenza viruses in wild birds? Do we have HPAI H5N1 in North America? Is there currently a public health risk associated with HPAI H5N1 in wild birds? Is there a domestic animal health risk associated with HPAI in wild birds? What is the possibility of HPAI H5N1 entering North America via migratory wild birds? What is the possibility of this virus being maintained in wild bird populations? Do we have surveillance for HPAI H5N1 in the United States? Additional information on HPAI can be found at these websites: The recognized geographic and species distribution of chronic wasting disease (CWD) has expanded since early September 2005 to include Hampshire County in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia National Fish and Wildlife Health Initiative Guiding Principles Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus was isolated from seven white-tailed deer in southwestern Michigan during September 2005 During the past summer, more than 500 head of livestock in North Dakota and South Dakota were lost to one of the largest recorded anthrax outbreaks in U.S. history. Most of the losses were in cattle, but horses, bison, and farm-reared elk also were affected. Dr. John Fischer, Director of SCWDS, has received this year’s Special Recognition Award from the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (IAFWA). Dr. William Randolph Davidson is retiring in November 2005.

SCWDS BRIEFS: Volume 18, Number 3 (October 2002)

• Chronic Wasting Disease Update: Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Colorado; National CWD Management – USDA & USDI National Plan for Assisting States, Federal Agencies, and Tribes in Managing Chronic Wasting Disease in Free-ranging and Captive Cervids • West Nile virus (WNV) reaches the Pacific coast • West Nile Virus in Blue Jays • Idaho Brucellosis Linked to Wildlife: All of the epidemiological and laboratory information clearly indicates that brucellosis-infected elk transmitted the disease to the cattle herd. • Tularemia caused a die-off of captured wild prairie dogs this summer at a Texas commercial exotic animal facility that distributes the animals for sale as pets. • Raptors can acquire avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM) via ingestion of other affected birds. • House Finch Mycoplasmosis: bacterial eye disease of house finches • Raccoon Rabies report • Toxoplasmosis – The newest finding regarding sea otters in California is the importance of toxoplasmosis as a mortality factor. Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that can invade visceral organs and the central nervous system to cause acute, disseminated tissue necrosis and fatal meningoencephalitis in susceptible animals. In recent years, 36% of dead sea otters examined have been infected. Another tissue-invading protozoan, Sarcocystis neurona, also was found in 4% of the otters. • Recovery of remnant populations of the endangered black-footed ferret have been hampered by sylvatic plague, which is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. • Dr. Samantha Gibbs received the Wildlife Disease Association’s Student Research Recognition Award. Dr. Cynthia Tate was selected by the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists to receive the Best Student Presentation Award. Dr. Andrea Varela won second place in the Student Presentation Award for her presentation at the meeting of the American Association Veterinary Parasitologists. Mr. Michael Yabsley received the Wildlife Disease Association Student Scholarship and the S.A. Ewing Vectorborne Parasitology Award from the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine.