Eradicating rabies requires ending dog-eating too CAUAYAN, Philippines––For the second time in three years a rabies outbreak linked to eating dogs has hit the western Philippines, underscoring the importance of ending dog meat consumption if canine rabies is to be eradicated. The rabies outbreak was declared by the Negros Occidental provincial department of health […]
Why the Oregon Zoo euthanized Packy the elephant
Antibiotic-resistant asymptomatic TB strain had epidemic potential PORTLAND, Oregon––Oregon Zoo veterinary staff on February 9, 2017 euthanized Packy, 54, the oldest male elephant in the U.S., after a multi-year losing battle against an antibiotic-resistant strain of the lung disease tuberculosis which had already killed two other Oregon Zoo elephants and infected seven zoo staff […]
Pigs investigated as possible Ebola vectors
Pigs can get Ebola, but do they spread it? KAMPALA, Uganda; NAIROBI, Kenya––Domestic pigs may already be among the vectors transmitting deadly Ebola viruses to humans, though no one knows for sure yet, warns a five-member International Livestock Research Institute team in a soon-to-be-published edition of the peer-reviewed scientific journal Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. The […]
Did botched pre-Ramadan sheep shipment start an epidemic?
Georgian officials deny disease outbreak ever occurred TBILISI, Georgia––How many sheep were casualties of a botched pre-Ramadan live transport from the nation of Georgia to Saudi Arabia and Jordan in late May 2015? The authentic toll might never be known. Exported for ritual sacrifice, the sheep instead fell ill in transit, were refused at several ports, […]
Lithuania advised against plan to kill 90% of wild boars to fight African swine fever
“Has little or no chance of success” VILNIUS, Lithuania––The European Food Safety Authority on March 17, 2014 reported that a Lithuanian government plan to fight African swine fever by killing wild boars has little or no chance of success. “No evidence was found in scientific literature proving that wild boar populations can be drastically reduced by […]