Mediaboss Marketing

Home Mail News Sports Finance Weather Games Groups Answers Flickr More omg! Shine Movies Music TV Health Shopping Travel Autos Homes Mobile Yahoo! News Search News Search Web Sign In Mail Help Account Info Help Suggestions Yahoo! Home Video Photos GMA Year in Review Odd Comics Travel Opinion Trending Now Who Knew? Weather The Upbeat U.S. U.S. Video GMA Education Religion Crimes and Trials Local Contributor Network Year In Review World World Video Middle East Europe Latin America Africa Asia Canada Australia/Antarctica Business Video Exclusives Today's Markets Stocks Personal Finance Marketplace Entertainment Video Clinton Concert Celebrity TV Movies Music Fashion Books Arts Theater Dear Abby Comics Odd News Sports Video NFL MLB NBA NCAAF NCAAB Soccer Cycling NHL Tennis Golf Boxing Motor Sports MMA Olympics Tech Gadgets Wireless Apple Social Media Security Open Source Gaming Apps This Could Be Big Upgrade Your Life Politics Remake America The Issues Women and Politics Press Releases Video Science Science Video Weather News Space / Astronomy Pets Dinosaurs / Fossils Biotech Energy Green Health Video Weight Loss Cancer Sexual Health Medications/Drugs Parenting/Kids Seniors/Aging Diseases/Conditions Blogs The Sideshow Katie's Take Power Players This Could Be Big Newsmakers Trending Now The Upbeat Who Knew? Nightline Fix Beyond the Headline Local Popular Search Keyword News Search

Go here to read the rest:
Facebook creates nail polish in signature shade

A virus similar to measles in humans has tentatively been identified as the cause of a massive dolphin die-off along mid-Atlantic states.

The possible killer is morbillivirus, which is common in some marine mammals, said officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

If the virus is indeed causing the deaths, its unclear why it has become so lethal this summer. Factors such as some other germ or a natural toxin could be contributing to the deaths, officials said.

Since July 1, 357 dolphins have turned up dead or dying from New York to North Carolina. Thats more than nine times the normal number for that period in that region.

More than two dozen of the dead animals have tested positive for the morbillivirus or are suspected of having had the virus.

An investigation is continuing, and it could take months.

Original post:
Measles-like virus seen as cause of dolphin deaths

By BROCK VERGAKIS Associated Press

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - Federal officials identified a virus Tuesday as the likely reason hundreds of bottlenose dolphins died along the East Coast, but they say there's little they can do to stop the deaths.

More than 330 dolphins have been stranded between New York and North Carolina since July 1, with nearly all of them dead by the time they wash up on shore, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

That's more than nine times the historical average for dolphin strandings in the region during July and August.

"Along the Atlantic seaboard, this is extraordinary," Teri Rowles, NOAA Fisheries Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program coordinator, said in a conference call with reporters.

Earlier this month, NOAA declared an unusual mortality event so it could provide additional resources to study what was behind the rapid increase in deaths - more than half of which have occurred in Virginia. At the time, they suspected the cetacean morbillivirus was causing the deaths, just as it did during the last major dolphin die-off. In 1987 and 1988, the virus was blamed for causing 740 dolphin deaths between New Jersey and Florida.

Although research will continue, NOAA said it has collected enough evidence to declare the virus as the "tentative cause" in the most recent string of deaths as well. Morbillivirus is found in a broad range of mammals, and dolphins with it typically experience symptoms such as skin lesions, brain infections and pneumonia. The virus is usually spread through inhalation of respiratory particles or direct contact between animals, although officials said there's no risk of humans catching it. Bottlenose dolphins are typically found in groups of two to 15.

"At this point there isn't anything we can do to stop the virus," Rowles said. "We don't have a vaccine that is developed that could be easily deployed in a wild population of bottlenose dolphins or subpopulations."

Officials at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center said many of the dolphins washing up on the state's beaches are badly decomposed. State and federal officials say there are untold numbers of other dolphins that have also died and haven't washed ashore, likely making the total death count much higher.

"We've definitely gotten reports of floating carcasses that we were not able to recover - and there are plenty of those," said Margaret Lynott, the aquarium's stranding coordinator.

Continued here:
NOAA: Virus likely causing dolphin deaths

Getty Images/Tom Ervin

Mosquitoes are responsible for millions of deaths each year through the spread of diseases like malaria,dengue fever, and West Nile virus.

Malaria, a flu-like illness caused by parasites that only mosquitoes carry, infected 219 million people in 2010 and killed 660,000, according to theWorld Health Organization.

By comparison, sharks, snakes, and bears combined only kill about 100,100 people every year mostly because of the snakes.

According to American Mosquito Control Association technical advisor Joe Conlon, malaria kills the equivalent of nine Boeing 747s full of children every year.

"Now think about what the headlines would read if we had nine airlines crashing in the jungle every day and killing all the children," Conlontold Business Insider.

Fortunately, malaria is treatable. But many other mosquito-borne illnesses some that haven't yet reached the United States don't have proven antidotes.

"The nastiest diseases on the planet are only a 7-hour plane ride away," Conlon said.

Below are some of the worst mosquito-borne illnesses. Currently, none of them have any treatments or vaccines.

Continue reading here:
The Most Dangerous Animal On Earth Can Fit On Your Fingertip

ASBURY PARK, N.J. -- A measles-like virus is most likely responsible for 357 bottlenose dolphin deaths recorded through Monday of this year from New York to North Carolina, according to federal officials.

And the killer outbreak may linger into next spring, said Teri Rowles of the federal Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program.

"Along the Atlantic seaboard, this is extraordinary," Rowles told reporters on a teleconference call Tuesday.

Scientists have confirmed that 32 of 33 dolphins tested have morbillivirus, which is naturally occurring, or are suspected to have had morbillivirus infections, she said.

"So we are now calling this a morbillivirus outbreak that extends currently from New York through Virginia for confirmed cases," said Rowles, whose program is within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service. In North Carolina, morbillivirus is also suspected in four dolphins north of Cape Hatteras.

Other factors may have weakened the dolphins' immune systems, making them more vulnerable to sickness. They include chemicals, other disease-causing microbes, biotoxins and expansion of the dolphins' range, according to officials and experts. The investigation is ongoing.

The dolphin die-off comes a quarter-century after 742 dead bottlenose dolphins were discovered along the Atlantic coast from New Jersey to Florida. Morbillivirus was eventually linked to their deaths in 1987-88, according to officials.

New Jersey death toll

This year's death toll in New Jersey is 72 through Monday, according to Maggie Mooney-Seus, spokeswoman for NOAA Fisheries.

But Robert Schoelkopf, director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, said he has counted 74 since July 9, the most recent of which was a badly decomposed, shark-scavenged dolphin carcass found at Cape May Point on Monday.

Continued here:
East Coast dolphin deaths linked to virus