CDC reports significant decline in cases of Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF), West Nile Virus, and Tularemia nationally in 2009 compared to 2008

Lyme Disease:  2008 =34,728 vs 2009 =29,780  (Down 4,948 or 14%)

RMSF:  2008 =2,384 vs 2009 =1,393  (Down 991 or 42%)

West Nile:  2008 =1,356 vs 2009 =690  (Down 666 or 49%)

Tularemia:  2008 =123 vs 2009 =79  (Down 44 or 36%)

(Source:  CDC’s Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report  January 8, 2010 / 58(51&52);1458-1469)

12 states have so-called “transitional” or “emerging” populations of wild hogs including OH, CO, IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, NE, NV, NY, PA, and WI.

Feral Hog

Journal News, Hamilton, Ohio

By Steve Bennish, Staff Writer, Updated Jan 9, 2010

Ohio could be past the point of being able to eradicate destructive wild hogs from the state, a federal wildlife specialist said.  The swine, popularly dubbed “Hogzillas” capable of growing to 500 pounds or more, have taken a foothold here as they have rapidly spread across the United States in a population explosion, a new survey shows.  So far, Ohio’s animals are apparently free of diseases that could harm people, said Craig Hicks, a wildlife disease biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture based in Reynoldsburg.  But they remain a serious threat to native wildlife and the environment, and hunters should still use caution when harvesting them, Hicks noted.  “Their existence here can only wreak havoc on the natural environment,” he said. “We may be beyond the point of removing all feral swine from Ohio.”

In 2009, the first year of an ongoing program to test the wild hogs for diseases, Hicks examined samples from 14 swine killed by hunters. Tests came back negative for classical swine fever, swine brucellosis and pseudo rabies.  That doesn’t mean hunters shouldn’t be vigilant, he added.  As with deer or any wild animal, hunters should wear rubber gloves when handling raw meat and properly bag discarded pieces after field dressing, Hicks said. Hunters should also wash their hands and clothing. And, as with any pork product, the meat should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

The total number of wild Ohio hogs — a mix of farm escapees and much larger European boars that fled game hunting camps — is 500 to 1,000, according to estimates.  They’re in 26 of 88 counties including Belmont, Gallia, Guernsey, Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Ross, Scioto, Vinton and Washington in the southeast.  They’re also in Adams, Brown, Butler, Darke, Preble and Shelby counties.  Reports also have located them in Auglaize, Champaign, Fayette, Logan, Mercer and Pickaway counties, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

As wild hogs have spread, they have developed permanent populations in more regions, said Jack Mayer, a scientist with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory in Aiken, S.C.  In a Scripps Howard News Service report, Mayer said he’s tracked the spread of the pigs to 44 states. America’s wild pig population more than doubled in size and range in the past 20 years. Two decades ago, 500,000 to 2 million roamed the United States. Now the population is 2 million to 6 million. In 1982, they were documented in only 17 states.  Mayer said that when a wild hog community is large enough, it reaches a critical mass and gains what scientists say is a permanent foothold.  Twenty-one states fall into that category of having an “established” hog population. When the population is smaller, it can still be removed by hunting and trapping.

Twelve states have so-called “transitional” or “emerging” populations including Ohio, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.  Wildlife experts have said the hogs are increasingly running roughshod in rural areas, suburbs and even a few cities. They’re digging up cemeteries, gardens and lawns, causing car wrecks — and occasionally attacking people.  In 2009:

• A wild pig attacked a St. Petersburg, Fla., woman in her backyard in April, goring her leg. Seven months later, an Avon Park, Fla., driver was killed when her sports utility vehicle flipped after colliding with a wild hog.

• In Detroit, a wild pig wandered through downtown, making its way to the home of a family in nearby Warren, Mich.

• In September, in a Redding, Calif.-area subdivision, an estimated 100 feral hogs tore out landscaping and turned lawns into muddy messes.

According to the Scripps Howard report, no national strategy or program exists to corral what is a cross-border problem. Without federal intervention and enforcement of laws that limit transporting animals, the battle against the pigs — which each year cause an estimated $800 million in property and crop damage and 27,000 auto collisions — could very well be lost, Mayer said.  The USDA’s Hicks said wild pigs are challenging to kill.  “They’re a pretty smart animal, and they learn from our mistakes,” he said. “They are prolific breeders. In our southern counties, trying to find them on a large tract of land can be difficult.”

Recent rabies cases reported in Arizona and Massachusetts

Adult peccaries or javelinas usually measure 3 to 4 feet long and weigh 45 to 90 pounds

Arizona  01/08/10  ktar.com:  The Arizona Game and Fish Department said a javelina that bit a Marana man New Year’s Day has tested positive for rabies.  Authorities said Thursday the 66-year-man was hiking on the Dove Mountain path Jan. 1 when he was bitten on the right arm and right leg by the javelina.  Arizona Game and Fish Department spokesman Mark Hart said the man was transported to Oro Valley-Northwest Hospital, where he has started rabies treatment. The javelina was shot and killed by an officer with the Marana Police Department.

Massachusetts 01/07/10  thetranscript.com:  Williamstown Animal Control Officer Jacqueline Lemieux said Wednesday she received a call on Monday about a possible injured cat, and when she arrived at the owner’s home, the cat was visibly sick. “I sent it out to be tested for rabies, and it came back positive,” she said. She said she learned from the cat’s owners that it — as well as two other cats in the house — hadn’t received the rabies vaccine. “I feel horrible that I’ve had to humanely euthanize three cats in 24 hours because you can’t take the risk,” she said. In addition, the cat’s owners have had to begin treatment — post-exposure prophylaxis — for the deadly neurological disease. Of the 154 animals in Massachusetts that tested positive for rabies in 2008, 15 were cats and one was a dog.

Jackson Hole bison hunt kills down almost 50 percent

 

Wyoming  01/06/10  jhnewsandguide.com:  Jackson Hole’s bison are learning to avoid open hunting areas, resulting in a roughly 46 percent drop in the number of animals killed in 2009-10 compared with the year before, wildlife managers say.  Hunters killed roughly 140 bison during this season’s hunt in Bridger-Teton National Forest and the National Elk Refuge. Hunting began Sept. 1 and ended Sunday.

In 2008, 258 animals were killed; in 2007, 266. About 40 of this year’s animals were harvested with cow tags, although 10 percent to 15 percent of those were likely calves. This season’s numbers could increase slightly as hunters continue to turn in their tags.  The hunt likely won’t cut into the herd’s population as it did the past two years, said Wyoming Game and Fish Department wildlife manager Doug Brimeyer.  “It didn’t reduce the population, but probably held the population in check,” Brimeyer said. “[We might see] a slight increase this year.  But we still achieved a level of harvest that helps us from a management standpoint. It helps [keep] the population from growing too much.”

One goal of the hunt is to reduce the size of the herd from more than 1,000 bison to about 500 to reduce their impact on refuge forage. By preserving forage for elk, managers can delay the onset of supplemental feeding, alleviating the crowding that exacerbates diseases such as brucellosis. Before the National Elk Refuge bison hunt began in 2007, the annual birth rate was roughly 12 percent to 14 percent of the population. Brimeyer said the herd currently consists of roughly 900 animals.  The hunt’s other goal is to keep bison off the refuge until winter. Brimeyer said the hunt did help preserve forage on the south end of the refuge by chasing bison back into Grand Teton National Park.

Recent rabies reports in Florida, West Virginia, and Arizona 2009 summary

Florida  01/06/10  jacksonville.com:  The Clay County Health Department today issued a rabies alert for the 32656 ZIP code near Keystone Heights.  The alert, which is centered just south of Gold Head State Park, comes after a raccoon tested positive for rabies. The warning is scheduled to last for 60 days.

West Virginia  01/06/10  wvnstv.com:  The cold weather doesn’t seem to be impacting the rabies cases in Greenbrier County.  Health department leaders say a rabid skunk was killed by a dog on Coleman Cliff Road in the Frankford area Tuesday. The dog was current on its vaccinations. Experts with the state hygienic lab say since five of the last six rabies cases have been discovered in the last few weeks, the frigid winter temperatures may have little impact on the movements of rabid animals in the area.

Arizona  01/04/10  phoenixnewtimes.com:  Officials at the Arizona Department of Health Services say there were more cases of rabies in 2009 than in any other year to date, including at least two rabid bobcats that both came to a rather unusual demise.  In one of the past year’s more amusing rabid bobcat stories, a few weeks ago, a man choked one to death with his bare hands after it attacked him in his yard. In a separate case, back in March, a rabid bobcat walked into a bar in Cottonwood and started attacking patrons before being shot by police.  Last year, 261 animals tested positive for the disease, which is an alarming 85 more than 2008.

Recent rabies reports in New Jersey and Georgia

New Jersey  01/05/10  dailyrecord.com:  A fox that bit a child and an adult in separate incidents between Dec. 24 and Dec. 25 tested positive for rabies, police said.  The fox was shot and killed by a Chatham police officer who responded to the attack of a person exiting his car, said Detective Sgt. Michael Bochniak.  In a separate, earlier incident, the fox had bitten a 9-year-old child, Bochniak said.  In 2009, there were 13 cases of land animals and one bat that tested positive for rabies in Morris County between Jan 1 and Sep 30, according to state authorities.  Nine of the land animals were raccoons.  Statewide, 217 specimens tested positive for rabies as of Sep 30.

Georgia  01/04/10  accessnorthga.com:  Hall County’s 19th rabies case of 2009 was reported when a skunk came into contact with two calves Wednesday in the Elmer Trulove Road area of North Hall.  Officials with Hall County Animal Services said the skunk was shipped to the Georgia Public Health Lab where it tested positive for the disease.