bottlenose dolphins

The bottlenose dolphin is recognizable by its large curved dorsal fin and gray body with muted color patterns. Males sometimes exceed 12 feet and 1,200 pounds, living 40-45 years in the wild. Females are smaller and longer lived. Widely distributed, the dolphin inhabits tropical and temperate latitudes around the world, residing both offshore and in estuaries, bays and the lower reaches of rivers. A playful animal, bottlenoses are often spotted bow-riding, wake-riding and body-surfing across the surface.
Inshore bottlenose dolphins differ markedly from the offshore variety, which tend to be darker with larger bodies and smaller flippers. They also typically gather in larger social groups, sometimes numbering more than a hundred, than inshore dolphins. Bay residents gather in groups as small as 2-15. Both varieties prey on fish, inshore individuals supplementing their diet with marine invertebrates. Often they are attracted to commercial fishing operations, feeding off discards or escapees. Their more unusual hunting practices include chasing fish out of the water and then partially beaching themselves to feed.
Though worldwide populations remain vibrant and widely-distributed, some regional populations are endangered by hunting, degradation of habitat and conflicts with commercial fishing. The Black Sea population is in particularly narrow straits, decimated by severely degraded water quality and killings that continued well into the 1980s and 1990s. Pollution, gill net entanglement and the collapse of fish populations threaten Mediterranean populations.

WHO CONFIRMS H5N1 CASES IN EGYPT,VIETNAM

WHO confirms H5N1 cases in Egypt, Vietnam
Dec 28, 2007 (CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed three human cases of H5N1 avian influenza in Vietnam and Egypt, one of which was fatal, raising the global H5N1 count to 346 cases with 213 deaths.
In Vietnam, a 4-year-old boy from the northern province of Son La died of an H5N1 infection Dec 16, the WHO said. He fell ill Dec 7 and was hospitalized on the 11th. His case was first reported by news services on Dec 26.
The boy's source of exposure is under investigation, the WHO said. His close contacts are being monitored, and all remain healthy so far, the agency reported.
Two women in Egypt are being treated for H5N1 disease, the WHO said. One is a 50-year-old from Domiatt governorate who was hospitalized Dec 24 and is in critical condition. The other is a 22-year-old chicken seller from Menofia governorate; she was hospitalized Dec 26 and is in intensive care but recovering, the WHO reported.
"Both women had contact with sick and dead poultry prior to illness onset," the agency said. News services first reported their cases yesterday.
Vietnam has had 101 confirmed H5N1 cases with 47 deaths, while Egypt has had 41 confirmed cases, 16 of them fatal.

Another death highlights avian flu threat in Egypt

16th victim of human bird flu infection reported since H5N1 virus first detected in Egypt.
-Another human victim of bird flu - the 16th in Egypt - has been registered in the country, underlining the fact that the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu, which was first detected in Egypt in February 2006, has not disappeared.
-The Ministry of Health said on 26 December that a 25-year-old woman had died the previous day in a village near Beni Souef, about 100km south of Cairo. The woman, who had handled infected birds at home, was admitted to hospital on 21 December suffering from pneumonia and respiratory problems.
-This was the 39th case of human bird flu infection reported since the H5N1 virus was first detected in the country. It was the first human death from bird flu since June 2007, when a 10-year-old girl died. In Egypt, most victims of avian flu have been women and children because of their role in raising domestic fowl.
-Nakhla Amany, regional planning assistant for avian flu in the Cairo office of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told IRIN that in this specific case the Egyptian health authorities had taken the right measures. “They immediately took the victim to hospital once they detected the symptoms of avian flu and they conducted the right tests.”
-She regretted, however, the delay by the victim’s family in seeking medical help. The family is being tested to see if anybody else has been infected.
Egypt has taken a number of stringent measures to combat the spread of the avian flu virus, including banning the raising of birds in towns and their transportation between provinces, and controlling where they are raised and sold.
A programme to raise awareness of the risks posed