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February 22, 2011
from
PreventDisease Website
Public Health Ministry Officials in Kenya are investigating the
deaths of millions of aquatic animals, the latest in a string of
mysterious animal deaths around the world.
Conservationists suspect the deaths that started last week might
have been caused by
agro chemicals from farms, that drain into the
river.
Hoteliers in Masai Mara Game Reserve are now expressing fear
that the chemicals might kill animals that depend on the river.
“The
deaths could have been caused by agro chemicals from large scale
farms on the upper side of the river. The chemicals might also kill
hippos, crocodiles and other animals that drink water from the
river,” said Ben Kipeno, a conservationist from the northern side of
the reserve.
Meanwhile, wildlife officials say they have no idea what is killing
thousands of ducks and geese along Lake Erie and the Maumee River.
When they first discovered the trend a few weeks ago, only a few
birds were infected. As of last Friday, around 200 birds have been
linked to the mystery illness.
Infected birds simply throw their heads back and lose their motor
skills before they die.
No one knows how far it could spread.
"This may be something that's not at all going to affect people, but
it may be, and we need to figure it out to know what's going on,"
said Nature's Nursery's Laura Zitzelberger.
So far, labs tests confirm that the birds
did not die of the avian
flu.
State wildlife officials say they may never know what is causing the
deaths.
About 5,000 birds fell from the sky in Arkansas over the New Year’s
weekend. That incident is part of a string of fish and animal deaths
seen in the U.S. and Europe, including a case in Maryland where two
million fish washed up on the shores of Chesapeake Bay earlier this
month, blamed on a rapid drop in temperature.
In Quebec City, wildlife officials there said pigeons are also dying
at an alarming rate.
A spokesperson for the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
said tests are currently being performed at the animal pathology lab
in the provincial capital.
“The cause right now isn’t known,” said Nicolas Begin. “It’s not
related to what happened in the U.S. (But) we don’t see this sort of
thing every day and we’re treating this as a serious matter.”
Wildlife officials are stating that the birds weren’t killed by the
avian flu or the West Nile virus.
"There’s something going on,” he said. “This is not normal.”
Sources
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