Local

Road map to eliminate lead from Minnesota’s drinking water

The Minnesota Department of Health and the University of Minnesota published a report which outlines the extent of the lead problem in Minnesota’s residential drinking water and estimates the costs to eliminate it. The Minnesota Legislature directed the analysis in 2017, in the wake of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Children under 5 years old are the most vulnerable to the effects of lead exposure, which include permanent developmental delays, hearing impairment, and hyperactivity.

The study estimates that it could cost about $4 billion to remove lead from Minnesota’s drinking water, but the projected 20-year return could be twice that. The benefits include improved population mental acuity and IQ, resulting in increased population lifetime earnings, productivity, and taxes paid. The study also proposes that efforts to eliminate lead exposure will help close racial and income disparities.

In Minnesota, the biggest source of lead to drinking water is lead leaching from service lines and plumbing fixtures. Potential strategies to mitigate lead exposure include removing 100,000 lead service pipes, removing residential plumbing fixtures that contain lead, promoting public awareness campaigns, and building technical partnerships. The report emphasizes that because there is no safe level of lead exposure, prevention is the best method of protection.

MPR
MN Dept. of Health (PDF)

National

California modifies virulent Newcastle Disease quarantine boundaries

Last week, the California State Veterinarian modified the quarantine area for virulent Newcastle Disease (vND) in Southern California. The quarantine area affects Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. Poultry owners within this area are prohibited from moving birds into and out of these counties. They are also required to allow diagnostic testing, isolate birds from other animal species, avoid exhibitions, and improve their biosecurity.

Virulent Newcastle Disease is a highly contagious viral disease of poultry which primarily affects the respiratory system, but can also affect the nervous system and digestive tract. Because the disease is highly fatal, many birds die without showing any clinical signs. The virus spreads quickly to healthy birds when moving sick birds, though it can also be transmitted on clothing and equipment. There is no food safety risk.

Because there is no treatment for vND, euthanasia is the only effective way to stop the spread of disease. Since May 2018, nearly 1 million birds have been euthanized in Los Angeles, Riverside, Ventura, and San Bernardino Counties. The goal of this expanded quarantine area is to prohibit the movement of birds across a larger area in an effort to eradicate the disease.

CA Dept. Of Food and Agriculture
USDA APHIS

International

Cats, environment primary sources of zoonotic fungus in Brazil

Medical officers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Mycotic Diseases Branch continue collaboration with health officials in Brazil to investigate a zoonotic fungus called Sporothrix brasiliensis. The classical cause of sporotrichosis is Sporothrix schenckii, which is found worldwide and causes “rose gardener’s disease,” a rare, mild skin infection that develops in people when fungal spores in the soil infect cuts or abrasions.

S. brasiliensis is also found in the environment and soil, but causes more severe disease. In immunocompromised people, a localized skin ulceration may disseminate to lymph nodes or cause generalized skin lesions. The disease may be fatal in systemic cases who do not seek antifungal treatment. In addition to environmental exposure, cats are sources of infection for people, especially in Rio de Janeiro where sporotrichosis is considered hyperendemic and notification of the disease is mandatory.

Cats pick up spores from the environment and spread it to people through scratching or biting. Infection in cats most typically appears as a swollen, ulcerated nose, but the disease can become systemic in cats, too. Antifungal treatment may be long and challenging. Veterinarians and people who are exposed to cats who go outside are at risk. CDC advises veterinarians in this hyperendemic region to keep both S. brasiliensis and S. schenckii on their differential lists when investigating suspected cases.

JAVMA
CDC