Zoonotic Diseases

Diseases discussed here have a history of use as an agent for biological warfare, either in the U.S. or abroad. Its use may have been experimental or actual, and any detrimental consequences upon humans, animals or the environment may have been intentional or not, depending on the circumstances, the point in time, and the nature of the disease.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Undiagnosed Wildlife Die Off / NH

PRO/AH/EDR​> Undiagnose​d die-off, marine wildlife - USA: (NH), RFI



ProMED-mail promed@promed.isid.harvard.edu to promed-ahead-e.

show details 1:25 PM (7 hours ago)



UNDIAGNOSED DIE-OFF, MARINE WILDLIFE - USA: (NEW HAMPSHIRE), REQUEST

FOR INFORMATION

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A ProMED-mail post



ProMED-mail is a program of the

International Society for Infectious Diseases





Date: Fri 7 Oct 2011

Source: The Boston Globe [edited]







A dead 8-foot-long bluefin tuna [_Thunnus thynnus_] washed up on a

beach in New Hampshire Wednesday [5 Oct 2011], the latest of a number

of sea creatures whose bodies have mysteriously washed up on the

state's shore.



"All of this together is very concerning," said Ellen Goethel, a

marine biologist and vice chair of the Hampton Conservation

Commission.



Goethel's 31-year-old son found the tuna when he was walking Plaice

Cove Beach in Hampton. Goethel, who went to the beach to observe the

fish, said she had seen 5 dead seabirds and 3 dead seals on the beach

the week before [week of 25 Sep 2011].



"I don't believe that it was caught and lost. It wasn't injured from

fishing," Goethel said.



The New England Aquarium said last week [week of 25 Sep 2011] that a

dozen seal pups had washed up on the state's beaches. The aquarium is

conducting tests on the creatures to determine if disease could be the

cause of death. The tests are not expected back until Thursday [13 Oct

2011], Tony LaCasse, spokesman for the aquarium, said today [7 Oct

2011]. Tests are also being conducted on the dead birds, said Allison

McHale, fishery policy analyst with the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration.



Goethel is worried about the diseases the marine life may carry, such

as hepatitis. She added that many locals walk their dogs on the beach

on a daily basis. "My concern was to get the animals off the beach as

quickly as possible," she said.



[Byline: Amanda Cedrone]



--

Communicated by:

ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts





[The broad range of taxa implicated (birds, mammals, fish) indicates

an unspecific cause and potential implications for public health,

domestic animal health, and biological conservation. Although the

attack rate does not seem to be elevated (1 fish, 5 sea birds, 3 adult

seals, and 12 pups), an outbreak investigation would be pertinent.

More information on the results of the investigation would be greatly

appreciated.



For a picture of the bluefin tuna see

- Mod.PMB]



[A HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of New Hampshire can be seen

at . - Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]



[see also:

Undiagnosed die-off, seal - Canada: (NL) 20110118.0207

Epizootic ulcerative synd., fish - Australia (03): (QL) stingrays

20111003.2974

Epizootic ulcerative synd., fish - Australia (02): (QL) human susp.

20110927.2926

Epizootic ulcerative synd., fish - Australia: (QL) 20110925.2908]

.................................................sb/pmb/mj/mpp

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