Thousands of snow geese fall dead from sky in Idaho

Avian cholera is suspected in the deaths of at least 2,000 snow geese that fell dead from the sky in Idaho while migrating to nesting grounds on the northern coast of Alaska, wildlife managers said Monday.

Dozens of Idaho Department of Fish and Game workers and volunteers at the weekend retrieved and incinerated carcasses of snow geese found near bodies of water and a wildlife management area in the eastern part of the state, said agency spokesman Gregg Losinski.

Avian cholera is believed to be the culprit in the deaths mostly because of the way the birds died, he said.

“Basically, they just fell out of the sky,” said Losinski.

He said biologists were awaiting results from a state wildlife lab to confirm the birds died of the highly contagious disease, which is caused by bacteria that can survive in soil and water for up to four months.

Humans face a small risk of contracting the disease but the more immediate threat is to wildlife in the vicinity of contaminated carcasses, Losinski said.

About 20 bald eagles were seen near areas where snow geese carcasses littered the ground but a lengthy incubation period makes it unclear if the eagles were infected and would carry the ailment elsewhere, said Losinski.

It was not known where the snow geese – named for their white plumage and for breeding in the far northern corners of Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Siberia – contracted avian cholera during a migration that saw them wing north from wintering grounds in the American Southwest and Mexico, he said.

Outbreaks like the one found affecting the migrating snow geese in Idaho occur periodically in the United States and elsewhere, Losinski said.

Avian cholera is the most important infectious disease affecting wild waterfowl in North America, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/thousands-of-snow-geese-fall-dead-from-sky-in-idaho/ar-AA9RLl3?ocid=TSHDHP

Cholera: Prevention and Treatment

Cholera is a bacterial infection that is common in third world countries and hasn’t been seen in the U.S. since the 1800′s before modern water treatment techniques appeared.

HOW IS IT SPREAD

Cholera is spread by contamination of the following

• Municipal/Public Water Supplies
• Ice made from contaminated water
• Food and Drinks sold on the streets
• Vegetables grown with water containing human waste
• Raw or undercooked fish and seafood caught in waters polluted by sewage

This can also arise from the mixing of clean water supplies with human waste, often occurring during natural disasters where damage is done to these systems.

WHAT DOES IT DO?

Cholera is the bacteria Vibrio cholerae, that can produce mild symptoms, but 1 in 20 people can develop SEVERE symptoms including..

• Watery diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Rapid Heart Rate
• Loss of Skin elasticity (the ability to return to position if pinched and let go)
• Dry Mucous Membranes (throat, nose, mouth, eyelids)
• Low Blood Pressure
• Extreme Thirst
• Muscle Cramps

Rapid Loss of bodily fluids can result in dehydration and shock, the number one killer; patients cannot keep down water and lose it faster than they can rehydrate, without treatment death can occur within hours.

HOW CAN I PREVENT IT

There are many ways to prevent cholera, and your situation will dictate what measures to take.

• Develop alternative water resources and stores other than public supplies

This could be finding local streams, having multiple redundant ways to filter and/or purify all your water, this can be Berkey Water Filters (which I offer a discount if you join as a member), Iodine, Bleach and Boiling. Don’t trust even natural streams as they have been contaminated in a natural disaster, or even in a collapse situation people may have begun to dump raw sewage or use streams for bathrooms. Rule of thumb, consider ALL water contaminated and in need of purification.

• Always use purification/filtering for water used in Drinking, Making Ice, Brushing Teeth, Washing face, hands, dishes, utensils, all food preparation items. Wash your food and vegetables with clean water.

Do not take any chances, the only thing you could possible consider using unclean water for is perhaps washing cloths, and even then it may be risky, I wouldn’t chance it.

Cholera is a Bacterial infection it is not a chemical so it is actually quite easy to eliminate just bring water to a rolling boil for a couple minutes (add another minute if you live above a mile in elevation).
BLEACH:
For Bleach make sure you use pure unscented Household Bleach, 8 drops (1/4 teaspoon) per gallon, double it if the water is murky (but not muddy).
To learn how to make your own bleach using Pool Cleanser, ready my Blog article on the subject.

HOW IS CHOLERA TREATED?

Cholera, severe cases can be treated in 4 ways.
1) RE-HYDRATION:
Replacement of lost fluids and electrolytes is paramount for survival of the patient. Use a simple re-hydration solution using ORS (Oral Rehydration Salts), this is a solution that is available as a powder that can be mixed with boiled or bottled (e.g. CLEAN) water. Without re-hydration approximately 50% of the people infected with the Bacteria will die, with treatment, death drops to 1%.
ORS can be bought for 1.25 each on Amazon, these below are the WHO standard packs.


2) IV FLUIDS:
Most people can be treated and saved using oral re-hydration, however SEVERE cases will need IV fluids to survive, early treatment is the key.

3) ANTIBIOTICS:
These are not necessarily required for treatment but they can help to reduce the amount of the duration of the cholera-related diarrhea. Just a single does of Doxycycline can be very effective. To get Anti-biotic’s without going to the doctor look into Fish/aquatic anti-biotic’s (use at own risk and do your research)

4) ZINC:
Research has shown that Zinc Supplements can decrease and shorten the duration of diarrhea in children with Cholera.

http://www.greatnorthernprepper.com/cholera-prevention-and-treatment/