hello tweetsters.

i thought that you all might be interested in these articles,
which i have saved especially for you!

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Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 15:56:42 -0500
From: David Ley <David_Ley at ncsu.edu>
Subject: Conjunctivitis in songbirds

To my knowledge the only confirmed naturally _M. gallisepticum_ - infected
songbirds have been House Finches and American Goldfinches. Therefore, the
Northern Cardinal would be a new host species if MG infection was confirmed.
Clearly, this knowledge would be very important to obtain, as determining
the number of susceptible host species will be very important to the
eventual course and impact of this outbreak.

I would encourage you to contact Dr. Kathy Converse (kathy_converse at nbs.gov)
at the NBS National Wildlife Health Laboratory for assistance in making a
definitive diagnosis of this condition in affected birds, especially if they
appear to be new susceptible species.

Good sources for more information on _Mycoplasma gallisepticum_
conjunctivitis are:
<http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol3no1/fischer2.htm>
<http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol3no3/ley.htm>
<http://members.aol.com/FinchMG/Home.htm>

You should also be aware that there are other potential causes of
conjunctivitis in songbirds besides _M. gallisepticum_, including _M. sturni_,
a recently identified and characterized new species, which has been isolated
from European starlings, blue jays and northern mockingbirds.

For more info. on this see:

FORSYTH, M. H., J. G. TULLY, T. S. GORTON, L. HINCKLEY, S. FRASCA JR. , J.
VAN KRUININGEN, AND S. J. GEARY. 1996. Mycoplasma sturni sp. nov., from
the conjunctiva of a European starling (Sturnus vulgaris). International
Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 46: 716-719.

FRASCA, S. JR., L. HINCKLEY, M. H. FORSYTH, T. S. GORTON, S. J. GEARY, AND
H. J. VAN KRUININGEN. 1997. Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in a European
starling. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 33: 336-339.

Ley DH, Geary SJ, Berkhoff JE, McLaren JM, Levisohn S. Mycoplasma sturni
from blue jays and northern mockingbirds with conjunctivitis in Florida.
Journal of Wildlife Diseases 1998; 34:403-406.

--
David H. Ley, DVM, PhD, ACVM, ACPV PHONE: 919-829-4269
College of Veterinary Medicine FAX: 919-829-4464
North Carolina State University e-mail: david_ley at ncsu.edu
4700 Hillsborough St.
Raleigh, NC 27606 USA
--

Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 11:18:30 -0500
From: Donna L. Scott <dls9 at cornell.edu>
Subject: re: MYCOPLASMA GALLISEPTICUM, AVIAN - USA

The Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology has a website devoted to
the House Finch eye disease and the survey to study its spread.

<http://birds.cornell.edu/HOFI/HOFIdisease.htm>

--
Donna L. Scott, MS Food Safety Extension Group
Senior Extension Associate Dept. of Food Science
Phone: 607-255-7922 8 Stocking Hall
Fax: 607-254-4868 (w/my name) Cornell University
e-mail: DLS9 at cornell.edu Ithaca, NY 14853