Subject: USGS Botulism overview
Date: Oct 15 14:05:31 1997
From: Peggi & Ben Rodgers - woodduck at cruzio.com


FYI. Didn't Fish & Wildlife just get through putting out a news release
saying this would be a bumper year for ducks (hence their hunters)?

Peggi

>Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 15:55:08 -0500
>Errors-To: owners-wildlifehealth at relay.doit.wisc.edu
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>From: WHadmin at nbs.gov (WHadmin)
>To: Multiple recipients of list <wildlifehealth at relay.doit.wisc.edu>
>Subject: USGS Botulism overview
>X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0b -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas
>
>
> USGS Botulism overview
>
> http://www.usgs.gov/public/press/public_affairs/press_releases/pr357m.
> html
>
> Disease Takes Its Toll on Waterfowl Populations
>
> If U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service predictions hold, this
> year 92 million ducks will migrate south from their northern breeding
> grounds. Many factors will challenge the survival of these migrants,
> one of which is disease. According to Dr. Lynn Creekmore, hundreds of
> thousands of waterfowl are presently dying from avian botulism in
> flyway staging sites in southern Canada and the northern U.S.
>
> Dr. Creekmore is a wildlife disease biologist at the U.S.
> Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center in
> Madison, WI. It is her job to monitor the occurrence of wildlife
> disease events in the U.S. Dr. Creekmore points out that avian
> botulism is the most serious disease of waterfowl in North America and
> quite likely the world.
>
> The disease can produce massive annual mortality; during this
> year's fall migration, Canadian biologists are estimating the losses
> at one southern Saskatchewan lake to be as high as 300,000 to 500,000
> birds. Also this year, at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, along
> the shores of the Great Salt Lake, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
> biologists report waterfowl mortality from botulism has reached nearly
> 100,000 birds. Most recently, approximately 5,600 birds are believed
> to have died from botulism at a National Wildlife Refuge in Illinois.
> What is even more troubling is that the mortality is continuing and
> may not end until cold weather drives the birds further south.
>
> Avian botulism is a disease of birds resulting from the ingestion
> of a paralyzing toxin produced by the bacterium, Clostridium botulinum
> type C. The toxin is closely related to botulism toxins A and B, which
> are responsible for a similar food-borne disease in humans. Affected
> birds lose coordination and show signs of paralysis of the legs and
> wings and labored breathing. In advanced stages of the disease, the
> birds cannot hold their heads up, and often drown or suffocate.
>
> Most outbreaks of type C botulism occur in ducks, and species such
> as pintails, shovelers, and mallards are among those that suffer the
> greatest losses. However, almost all birds are susceptible to the
> disease, says Dr. Creekmore, and in recent years, losses in other
> species, including pelicans, herons, and egrets have been increasing.
> Dr. Tonie Rocke, a veteran scientist also at the USGS National
> Wildlife Health Center, who has spent years studying botulism
> explains, "Often the disease will occur in one wetland and not occur
> in an adjacent wetland just a few yards away. If we could determine
> the environmental factors that trigger the disease, we may be able to
> devise wetland management methods to lower the risk of outbreaks and
> reduce mortality."
>
> Dr. Rocke and her colleagues have made significant progress in
> determining the conditions that are associated with avian botulism
> outbreaks. The organism is widely distributed in wetland sediments and
> factors such as acidity (pH), salinity, and temperature apparently
> play major roles in increasing or decreasing the risk of outbreaks.
> The next step is to determine if management actions influence these
> key environmental conditions.
>
> The USGS National Wildlife Health Center is the foremost wildlife
> diagnostic and investigative facility of its type, devoted to
> identifying causes and possible management responses for episodes of
> death or debilitation among free-ranging wild creatures throughout the
> United States and, on a consulting basis, other nations.
>
> As the nation's largest earth and biological science and civilian
> mapping agency, the USGS works in cooperation with more than
> 1,200 organizations across the country to provide reliable, impartial,
> scientific information to resource managers, planners, and other
> customers. This information is gathered in every state by USGS
> scientists to minimize the loss of life and property from natural
> disasters, contribute to wise economic and physical development of the
> nation's natural resources, and enhance the quality of life by
> monitoring water, biological, energy, and mineral resources of the
> nation
>
>.-
>
>
Ben & Peggi Rodgers
Aptos, CA (near Santa Cruz 122 W, 37 N)
USA
woodduck at cruzio.com
http://www2.cruzio.com/~woodduck/


"A bird does not sing because it has an answer,
It sings because it has a song"