Post by Ex_Nuke_Troop on Feb 24, 2014 14:38:10 GMT
NOAA Fisheries : DISEASE OUTBREAK IN NORTHERN ALASKA
Summary and Background
Beginning mid-July 2011, elevated numbers of sick or dead seals with skin lesions started being discovered in the
Arctic and Bering Strait regions of Alaska. The North Slope Borough Division of Wildlife Management first began
to notice sick seals while conducting ice seal satellite telemetry studies during routine research in July and
August 2011. Hunters also began to report unusual symptoms they were observing in seals during harvests.
Although abnormal hair loss (known as alopecia) had been under investigation in ringed seals for several years,
hunters and researchers started seeing seals with more severe signs of illness, as well as dead seals. Diseased
seals--primarily ringed seals—exhibited hair loss, delayed molting, and skin ulcers. Some of these seals also
exhibited lethargy and labored breathing. Similar cases in ringed seals were also reported from Canada and
Russia. In addition, there have been some reports of skin lesions in Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus
divergens) in Alaska, with some associated mortality. Spotted seals and bearded seals were also affected. There
were reports of pinnipeds with similar symptoms in Canada, Russia, and Japan.
By December 2011, there were more than 100 cases of affected pinnipeds in Alaska’s Arctic region. Due to the
unusual number of marine mammals discovered with similar symptoms across a wide geographic area, and after
consultation with the Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events, NOAA and USFWS
announced the declaration of an Unusual Mortality Event on Tuesday, December 20, 2011. The declaration
triggered a focused, expert investigation into the cause of the disease. An investigation team was established
involving national and international specialists from numerous agencies, laboratories, and institutions, and
including Tribal leaders, hunters, scientists, veterinarians, wildlife biologists, and disease diagnosticians from
Alaska and beyond.
This was the first UME involving subsistence species in coastal Alaskan communities. The investigative team
worked closely with the State of Alaska Division of Public Health to assess potential risk and distribute general
precautionary guidelines around handling and consumption in the absence of a known pathogen. Throughout
the event, hunters have been encouraged to use traditional and customary practices when dealing with healthy
alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/protectedresources/seals/ice/diseased/default.htm
Summary and Background
Beginning mid-July 2011, elevated numbers of sick or dead seals with skin lesions started being discovered in the
Arctic and Bering Strait regions of Alaska. The North Slope Borough Division of Wildlife Management first began
to notice sick seals while conducting ice seal satellite telemetry studies during routine research in July and
August 2011. Hunters also began to report unusual symptoms they were observing in seals during harvests.
Although abnormal hair loss (known as alopecia) had been under investigation in ringed seals for several years,
hunters and researchers started seeing seals with more severe signs of illness, as well as dead seals. Diseased
seals--primarily ringed seals—exhibited hair loss, delayed molting, and skin ulcers. Some of these seals also
exhibited lethargy and labored breathing. Similar cases in ringed seals were also reported from Canada and
Russia. In addition, there have been some reports of skin lesions in Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus
divergens) in Alaska, with some associated mortality. Spotted seals and bearded seals were also affected. There
were reports of pinnipeds with similar symptoms in Canada, Russia, and Japan.
By December 2011, there were more than 100 cases of affected pinnipeds in Alaska’s Arctic region. Due to the
unusual number of marine mammals discovered with similar symptoms across a wide geographic area, and after
consultation with the Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events, NOAA and USFWS
announced the declaration of an Unusual Mortality Event on Tuesday, December 20, 2011. The declaration
triggered a focused, expert investigation into the cause of the disease. An investigation team was established
involving national and international specialists from numerous agencies, laboratories, and institutions, and
including Tribal leaders, hunters, scientists, veterinarians, wildlife biologists, and disease diagnosticians from
Alaska and beyond.
This was the first UME involving subsistence species in coastal Alaskan communities. The investigative team
worked closely with the State of Alaska Division of Public Health to assess potential risk and distribute general
precautionary guidelines around handling and consumption in the absence of a known pathogen. Throughout
the event, hunters have been encouraged to use traditional and customary practices when dealing with healthy
alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/protectedresources/seals/ice/diseased/default.htm
so whats happening in the Solomons, is haarp missing its mark?