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A MYSTERIOUS DISEASE DRY-DOCKS TWO SEA TURTLE (LETHARGIC LOGGERHEAD EPIZOOTIC INCIDENT)

A Mysterious Disease Dry-Docks Two Sea Turtle (Lethargic Loggerhead
Epizootic Incident) 
Moss, nearly 30 years old and 200 pounds, lies sprawled on a slab of foam.
She can barely move -- the toxins pumping through her body have all but
paralyzed her. So the sea turtle spends her afternoons staring through the
open doors of an animal lab -- at the ocean. Occasionally, a lab worker
covers her with oil, so her skin doesn't dry out. A newly discovered
disease has dry-docked Moss and another sea turtle named Garden, who are
now being cared for by doctors and workers at the Miami Seaquarium. Known
by researchers as the lethargic loggerhead epizootic incident, the disease
has affected at least 60 loggerhead sea turtles along South Florida's
coastline since the winter of 2000.Most of the turtles affected have been
females, and all have been loggerhead turtles, known for their unusually
large heads. Researchers are not yet sure what is causing the disease. 
Dr. Maya Menchaca, the staff veterinarian at the Seaquarium, said
researchers have found unidentified toxins in the turtles that cripple
their nervous systems and eventually lead to paralysis. But they don't know
where the toxins are coming from. Researchers are studying whether the
poisons originate in a new species of jellyfish, which the turtles eat, or
are from parasites, Menchaca said. ''We just haven't yet pinpointed where
the toxins are coming from,'' Menchaca said. ``It's sad because we don't
know how many are out there and suffering from this. ''Researchers became
aware of the disease three years ago when 49 loggerhead turtles were found
suffering from the same symptoms, said Allen Foley, a wildlife biologist
with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Most of those
were found off the Keys, barely able to swim. Some had pneumonia from all
the water that had pooled in their lungs. Unable to lift their necks above
the waves, seawater poured in through their mouths with each breath. .Only
five of those 49 turtles survived. Later in 2001, between five and seven
sea turtles were discovered ill, but the pace of the disease has since
slowed to about one to three known cases a year. Although the staff at the
Seaquarium doesn't know what is causing the disease, workers have been able
to slow the mortality rate. Since 2001, the Key Biscayne-based lab has been
able to save half of the 10 turtles it has treated for the disease. Park
rangers found Garden, who is between 10 and 15 years old and weighs about
120 pounds, in Crandon Park on Jan. 3.Moss was found Tuesday at Biscayne
National Park in South Miami-Dade County. 
Once a day the two turtles are given antibiotics and fluids through an
intravenous tube in their neck, to flush the toxins out of their
system.After about a month, when they hopefully will be able to move more,
the turtles will be placed in shallow water and fed by hand -- crabs,
lobsters -- instead of through an IV.''Their jaw muscles are usually the
last to recover and so they can observe the food, but they can't grab it,''
Menchaca said.`` We open their mouths and put the food inside.'' Complete
recovery takes between four and six months, so the two turtles still have a
long road ahead of them, Menchaca, said. After they recover, staff members
plan to release them back into the ocean. ''We always think positively,''
Menchaca said. ``Every day they move a little bit more and get a little bit
better.''