similar die-off occur in the future; that other Federal agencies 

 would be invited to participate in the program review; and 

 that the review would be an opportunity for the Service to 

 guery what support might be forthcoming. 



In its response, the Service also noted that the Commission 

 had recommended that the program review be conducted in two 

 parts, with the medical and environmental aspects being examined 

 immediately. The Service stated that it had consulted with 

 Dr. Geraci and had concluded that it would be premature to 

 review any aspects of the program at that time and, accordingly, 

 it intended to convene a program review in the early summer of 

 1988. With regard to the Commission's recommendation on 

 securing needed funding, the Service noted that it was putting 

 together a proposal to ensure an effective response in the 

 event of another die-off episode. This proposal included 

 support for Dr. Geraci to continue leading the emergency 

 response team. 



During 1988, the Commission continued to encourage and 

 support efforts to determine the cause or causes of the die- 

 off. As noted above, primary viral and bacterial isolation 

 studies were undertaken at the Department of Agriculture's 

 National Veterinary Services Laboratory and at the Virginia 

 Beach General Hospital. In February 1988, the Commission 

 provided funds to the Ontario Veterinary College to complete 

 the histopathological studies of bacteria and fungi begun by 

 the Department of Agriculture. The Commission also provided 

 funds to the New England Aguarium to continue collecting and 

 archiving tissues which it had started in 1987, and to the 

 Eastern Virginia Medical School to continue virological 

 analyses. Additional funding for these and other aspects of 

 the investigation was provided by several other Federal, state, 

 and private organizations. 



In June 1988, the Commission initiated discussions with 

 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the 

 National Aeronautics and Space Administration to assess the 

 potential for using satellite imagery to detect the presence 

 of dumped toxic/volatile hydrocarbon and other compounds in 

 the marine environment. However, none of the satellites 

 operated by the two agencies had the reguired capability. 



The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was 

 also reguested to provide data on meteorological and oceanic 

 current and temperature patterns in the mid-Atlantic region 

 during the die-off. Water temperatures reported in newspapers 

 during the die-off suggested that surface water temperatures 

 had been unusually high during the summer of 1987. Such 

 conditions might have promoted a bloom of established 

 microorganisms, favored the rise of new forms, or transformed 

 relatively harmless species into pathogenic variants. The 



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