Nexus - 0103 - New Times Magazine-pages

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Mystery Dolphin Plague Hundreds of dead or dying dolphins “This has never happened before - have been washed up along America’s it’s not in any of the literature, it’s un- Atlantic coast suffering from an amaz- precedented,” said Dr Joseph Geraci, a ing viriety of diseases. marine pathologist who heads a Vir- In July alone, 70 dolphins were ginia team of scientists studying the found from the North Carolinas to New deaths full-time. Jersey - the normal annual figure is four. * > American and Canadian scientists from Dolphin AIDS? the Smithsonian Institute and govern- Suggested causes have ranged from ment departments, environmental biological toxins (pollutants) to a virus groups and dolphinaria are studying or dolphin immunological disorder - the deaths. the symptoms resemble those of AIDS “This thing is dragging on like the to an uncanny degree, and the oppor- plague,” said theSmithsonian’s William tunistic infections swarming through McLellan. “Something. really nasty is the dolphins’ bodies definitely indicate happening to those dolphins.” an immune system breakdown. Autopsies show they are dying pain- “Even if we found it was a disease ful deaths from internal hemorrhaging, and came up with a vaccine, we dumped off New Jersey beaches are with fluid in their lungs, stomach and couldn’t go offshore and give each ani- responsible. chest cavities; enlarged spleens and mal a shot,” says McLellan. Dolphins The gay newspaper New York Na- other organ abnormalities; bronchial live in extended “tribal’ groups, and ifa tive, has suggested the dolphins may pneumonia; ulcer-covered mouths and disease is responsible they may infect have human B-cell lym photropic virus skin peeling off like plastic wrapping. each other or be infected individually. (HBLYV) which attacks immune systems; The deaths are caused by bacteria It’s also possible we are witnessing “We suspect that HBLV is actually Afri- including streptococci and a large num- the first effects of ultraviolet damage to can swine fever virus,” they said, add- ber of Vibro bacteria. Theseare normally mammal lymphatic (immune) systems ing that an armed forces scientist was present in the marine environment, but due to ozone depletion, or that huge working with this virus and that it could have suddenly become lethal to dol- amounts hospital waste (including destroy the immune systems of several phins alone. used syringes) recently found illegally species. SS —— Sea Shepherds) KOALAS DISAPPEARING Environmentalists from the group Sea Koalas are being decimated through- has been spreading in Australia, leaving Shepherds boarded two of Iceland’s fleet of out eastern Australia by a disease blindness, sterility and death in its four whaling ships, opened sea valves and which has reduced their survival pros- wake. Now colonies have disappeared sank them in protest against the continued pects alarmingly. from the western ranges of NSW, and a Icelandic hunting of whales. For some years it has been known recent survey from Sydney to the Victo- The unmanned ships were anchored in thataformofchlamydia lethaltokoalas rian border counted only six sightings. mothballs while the remaining two were still being used. A Greenpeace breakaway group, The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society saved about 200 whales and also demolished a whale meat processing plant, according to founder Paul Watson. “Our organization has the full right to sink the whalers because Iceland is violating the (International Whaling Commission) moratorium,” he said. Watson described the Sea Shepherds as “an unofficial policing body”. Jailed in Canada for trying to stop the slaughter of disease. baby harp seals and in Kenya for a campaign ¥ \ “Tf this evidence is confirmed in fu- to save elephants, he said he would welcome 4A Zo! f ture studies, there is indeed an urgency a chance to appear in court to defend his Ya to understand chlamydial infections in actions - anywhere but Iceland. In 1980 the koalas ... for the sake of their own sur- Sea Shepherds sank two Spanish whaling vival!”, according to an as-yet-unpub- vessels with magnetic mines. lished university report in NSW. In the Lismore region (which until recently had the largest colonies in the state) numbers are down by 80%. Fur- ther north in the Darling Downs, the koala population has been halved inthe last decade. Half of those remaining are infected whith chlamydia and suffering. Victoria’s Phillip Island reports that 98% of their koalas are infected. The destruction of the koalas’ forest environ- ment has been cited by researchers as a cause of their susceptibility to the killer Y os ZEB Lue Ve Nexus New Times Three 15 “This has never happened before - it’s not in any of the literature, it’s un- precedented,” said Dr Joseph Geraci, a marine pathologist who heads a Vir- ginia team of scientists studying the deaths full-time. LL NERUS NEIDS