USGS National Wildlife Health Center
Quarterly Wildlife Mortality Report July 1999 to September 1999 |
Reported State |
Location |
Dates |
Species |
Mortality |
Diagnosis |
Reported By |
AZ |
Maricopa CO, Ak Chin Indian Reservation |
08/13/99-08/18/99 |
American Coot Killdeer, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Wilson's
Phalarope |
18(e) |
Open |
NW |
CA |
West Sacramento, Arrowhead Harbor |
04/28/99-04/28/99 |
Muscovy |
6(e) |
Duck plague |
CA |
CA |
Lower Klamath and Tule Lake |
07/15/99-08/15/99 |
Eared Grebe, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Cinnamon Teal,Western Grebe |
300(e) |
Botulism, type C |
NW |
CA |
Sacramento NWR |
08/18/99-ongoing |
Mallard, Unspecified Duck, Snowy egret |
431 |
Botulism, type C |
NW |
CA |
Salton Sea |
07/01/99-11/15/99 |
Double-crested Cormorant, Brown Pelican, American White Pelican,
White-faced Ibis, Marbled Godwit |
685 |
Botulism type C |
NW |
CA |
Westmorland |
06/28/99-10/01/99 |
Cattle Egret |
400(e) |
Emaciation |
NW |
CA |
Fresno CO. |
08/15/99-08/15/99 |
Mt Yellow-legged Frog |
200(e) |
Open |
NW |
CO |
Boulder CO |
05/10/99-05/12/99 |
Northern Leopard Frog, Tiger Salamander |
5 |
Open |
NW |
CO |
Empire |
05/17/99-09/08/99 |
Boreal Toad |
10 |
Chytrid Fungus |
NW |
CO |
Fort Collins |
07/14/99-ongoing |
Mallard, American Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Western Kingbird, American
Robin |
1050 |
Botulism type C |
CO, NW |
GA |
Savannah NWR |
06/28/99-06/28/99 |
Mallard |
7 |
Botulism type C |
NW |
ID |
Bingham CO., Fort Hall Indian Reservation |
06/20/99-09/14/99 |
Tiger Salamander |
223(e) |
Open |
NW |
ID |
Market Lake, Jefferson CO. |
07/15/99-ongoing |
Franklin's Gull, Blue-winged Teal |
150 |
Botulism type C |
IFG, NW |
IL |
DuPage CO. |
08/15/99-09/01/99 |
Mallard |
22 |
Botulism Suspect |
NW |
IL |
Chautauqua NWR |
08/30/99-09/07/99 |
Unidentified Shorebird, Blue-winged Teal, Wood Duck, Norther Shoveler,
Mallard |
150(e) |
Botulism |
NW |
IL |
Chicago, Metro Parks Pond |
07/09/99-07/09/99 |
Canada Goose, Mallard |
9 |
Toxicosis: organophosphorus cmpd. suspect |
NW |
KS |
Johnson CO., Gardner Lake |
07/02/99-07/02/99 |
Mallard, Canada Goose |
22 |
Toxicosis: Diazinon |
NW |
LA |
Jonesville |
09/08/99-09/15/99 |
Blue-winged Teal, Gadwall |
34(e) |
Open |
NW |
MA |
Cape Cod National Seashore |
08/23/99-09/16/99 |
Bull Frog |
100(e) |
Viral Infection: Iridovirus |
NW |
ME |
Becky's Pond |
07/07/99-07/07/99 |
Wood Frog, Mink Frog |
30(e) |
Open |
NW |
ME |
Woodland |
07/23/99-07/23/99 |
Wood Frog |
50(e) |
Open |
NW |
MN |
Loring Park |
08/17/99-08/17/99 |
Mallard |
50(e) |
Botulism Suspect |
NW |
MN |
Crow Wing CO. |
06/10/99-07/25/99 |
Green Frog, Mink Frog, Northern Leopard Frog |
35(e) |
Open |
NW |
MO |
Carter CO |
08/17/99-08/17/99 |
Unidentified Duck |
2 |
Open |
NW |
MO |
Taney CO., Lake Taneycomo |
07/02/99-07/02/99 |
Canada Goose, Wood Duck |
18 |
Botulism type C |
|
MT |
Benton Lake NWR |
07/30/99-09/25/99 |
Mallard (duckling, Northern Shoveler |
35 (e) |
Botulism type C, Chlamydiosis |
NW |
MT |
Ravalli CO |
06/21/99-06/25/99 |
House Finch, Pine Siskin |
10(e) |
Undetermined |
NW |
NC |
Charlotte |
08/07/99-08/07/99 |
Purple Martin, European Starling, Common Grackle |
111(e) |
Trauma suspect |
NW |
NC |
Davidson CO., High Rock Lake |
08/15/99-09/15/99 |
Mallard, Muscovy |
100(e) |
Toxicosis: organophosphorus , Botulism typeC |
NW |
ND |
Audubon NWR - Turtle Lake |
08/05/99-09/17/99 |
Blue-winged Teal, Pintail, American Coot, Northern Shoveler |
67 |
Botulism type C |
NW |
ND |
Horsehead Lake, Kidder Co. |
07/02/99-09/20/99 |
Blue-winged Teal, Gadwall, Western Grebe, Clark's Grebe |
6,079 |
Botulism |
NW |
ND |
Logan CO., Roesler |
07/01/99-08/25/99 |
Ring-billed Gull |
756 |
Open |
NW |
ND |
McIntosh CO., Salzer WPA |
07/20/99-08/19/99 |
Mallard, Gadwall, Blue-winged Teal, American Avocet |
1661 |
Botulism Suspect, Emaciation |
NW |
ND |
New Leipzig |
08/12/99-08/13/99 |
House Sparrow |
700(e) |
Open |
NW |
ND |
Ramsey CO., Lake Alice |
08/18/99-09/17/99 |
Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Mallard |
616(e) |
Botulism type C |
NW |
ND |
Tewaukon NWR |
08/16/99-09/30/99 |
Northern Pintail, American Coot, Canada Goose, Double-crested Cormorant,
Northern Shoveler |
353 |
Botulism type C |
NW |
ND |
Upper Souris NWR, Lake Darling |
08/01/99-09/03/99 |
Mallard, American Coot, Gadwall, Northern Shoveler |
1,700(e) |
Botulism type C suspect |
NW |
NH |
Carroll CO., White Pond |
09/01/99-09/10/99 |
Bull Frog |
100 |
Open |
NW |
NH |
Great Bay NWR |
08/09/99-08/09/99 |
Green Frog, Pickerel Frog, Eastern Spotted Newt |
4 |
Open |
NW |
NJ |
Salem, Cumberland CO |
08/01/99-09/01/99 |
White-tailed Deer |
60(e) |
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease |
|
NM |
Sevilleta NWR |
08/24/99-08/30/99 |
Gray Wolf |
5 |
Parvovirus Suspect |
NW |
NV |
Stillwater NWR |
07/10/99-09/15/99 |
Mallard, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, White-faced Ibis,
Gadwall |
2618 |
Botulism Suspect |
|
NY CT NJ |
Long Island, Staten Island, Westchester CO, Rockland CO Fairfield, New
Haven CO Statewide |
08/11/99-ongoing |
American Crow, Fish Crow |
1000's(e) |
West Nile Virus |
CDC, NYS, NW |
OH |
Columbus |
07/21/99-07/27/99 |
Mallard, Canada Goose, Domestic Duck |
38(e) |
Botulism type C |
NW |
OR |
Summer lake |
07/30/99-08/16/99 |
Double-crested Cormorant |
4(e) |
Open |
NW |
PA |
Presque Isle State Park |
07/18/99-ongoing |
Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Black-bellied
Plover, American Coot |
271 |
Botulism type E |
NW |
TN |
Gourley Pond, Cades Cove, Great Smokey Mountains |
07/11/99-07/11/99 |
Pickerel Frog, Spotted Salamander |
6 |
Open |
NW |
TX |
Euless |
07/01/99-08/01/99 |
Cattle Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron |
99 |
Open |
NW |
UT |
Bear River NWR |
07/08/99-07/31/99 |
Double-crested Cormorant |
1,000(e) |
Newcastle Disease Virus |
NW |
UT |
Ouray NWR |
09/11/99-10/11/99 |
Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, Gadwall, Mallard, American Coot |
750(e) |
Botulism type C |
NW |
WI |
Green Bay |
07/19/99-07/25/99 |
Mallard, Northern Pintail, Herring Gull, Wood Duck |
9(e) |
Botulism |
NW |
WI |
Racine |
08/17/99-08/18/99 |
Ring-billed Gull, Mallard |
36(e) |
Botulism suspect |
NW |
WI |
Milwaukee CO |
08/02/99-08/12/99 |
Mallard |
46 |
Botulism type C |
NW |
WY |
Sublette CO |
08/02/99-08/02/99 |
Tiger Salamander |
200(e) |
Open |
NW |
(e) = estimate * = morbidity and mortality
California Department
of Fish and Game-Wildlife Investigations Laboratory (CFG); Centers
For Disease Control, Ft. Collins, CO, (CDC); Colorado Division of
Wildlife (CO); Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IFG); National
Wildlife Health Center (NW); New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation (NY); Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study
(SC).
Written and
compiled by Kathryn Converse, Kimberli Miller, Linda Glaser, Terry
Creekmore, and Audra Schrader, National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC).
To report mortality or if you would like specific information on
these mortalities, contact one of the following NWHC staff: Western
US Kathryn Converse; Eastern US--Kimberli Miller; Hawaiian Islands--Thierry
Work. Phone (608) 270-2400, FAX (608) 270-2415 or E-mail kathy_converse@usgs.gov.
National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, WI
53711.
|
Quarterly Mortality Reports |
On September 24, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced the isolation
and identification of the West Nile virus (WNV) from birds collected
in New York City. West Nile virus is an arthropod-borne virus closely related to St. Louis encephalitis
(SLE) virus, a known virus infection of birds in the United States which occasionally causes
human cases and epidemics. The West Nile virus has never been reported
in the United States or any area of the Western Hemisphere prior
to this isolation. Birds are the natural hosts for this virus and
the virus is transmitted from birds to other animals, including
humans, through the bite of mosquitoes. The virus is not directly
transmitted between humans and is not known to be transmitted from
birds to humans or to other animals without the arthropod vector.
American crows appear to be especially sensitive to this disease with mortality
in a 14 county area of New York City (including counties in New Jersey) estimated
to be in the thousands. Fish crows are also dying of WNV. West Nile virus has been identified
in 17 native American bird species although it has not been determined
to be the cause of death in all these species. Each of the states
of New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York are examining the bird
carcasses found within their borders for WNV. The USGS National
Wildlife Health Center has recruited submission of carcasses, primarily
crows, from states on the Atlantic coast (outside of NJ, CT, NY)
for WNV testing. One crow from Baltimore, MD was found to be positive
for WNV during this surveillance effort. Carcass submission and
testing for WNV is ongoing and surveillance is planned through the
winter. Selected specimens from probable WN virus positive crows
submitted from new locations will be shipped to CDC for confirmation.
Concurrently, USGS and CDC will be collaborating with Dr. Ward Stone
(New York Department of Environmental Conservation), New York City
and New York State Public Health officials, and the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service to conduct field investigations in the New York
area. Researchers will attempt to determine the wildlife species
involved, the geographic and temporal distribution of the new virus
in bird populations, and where the virus may be expanding beyond
the currently reported sites. There is concern that if migratory
birds are infected, the virus will move farther south during fall
migration.
Type E botulism was confirmed in gulls collected during mortality of 230 ring-billed,
greater black backed and herring gulls since late July on Presque Isle State
Park in Erie, Pennsylvania. Other species implicated in the mortality
include ducks and loons, however these species have not yet been
tested for the toxin. Botulism type E has been the cause of bird
mortality in the Great Lakes in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1970
1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, and 1983. All of the bird moralities occurred in
the autumn, except in 1980, and it is thought that eating fish exposes
the birds to the toxin. The Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health
Center has confirmed botulism type E mortality in birds collected
from two ongoing mortality events. Over 200 common loons, grebes,
diving ducks, and ring-billed, herring, and Bonaparte's gulls have
died along the northern shore of Lake Erie in Ontario, Canada between
Point Pelee National Park and Rondeau Provincial Park, and several
hundred red-throated loons, grebes, mergansers, diving ducks,
and ring-billed and Bonaparte's gulls are reported to have died
along the southeastern part of Lake Huron near Kettle Point and
Grand Bend.
Waterfowl mortality was reported at the Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge in late
July. Botulism was the suspected cause of death, however many of
the birds that were collected were thin. All of the birds initially
submitted to the NWHC were emaciated and several had pneumonia and/or
an airsacculitis. Cultures submitted to the National Veterinary
Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa were positive for chlamydia. A
follow-up field investigation of this mortality event confirmed
the presence of chlamydia in samples taken from migratory birds
trapped on the refuge. This is the first reported chlamydiosis mortality
in migratory waterfowl in the United States.
For additional information please contact Dr. Scott Wright,
USGS National Wildlife Health Center - Disease Investigations Branch Chief, at 608-270-2460 or
Paul Slota, USGS National Wildlife Health Center - Support Services
Branch Chief at 608-270-2420.
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