USGS National Wildlife Health Center
Quarterly Wildlife Mortality Report April 2004 to June 2004 |
Reported State |
Location |
Dates |
Species |
Mortality |
Diagnosis |
Reported By |
AL |
Wheeler NWR |
05/18/04-05/27/04 |
Southern Leopard Frog |
150 (e) |
Parasitism: trematodiasis |
NW |
AZ |
Santa Cruz County |
06/26/04-07/08/04 |
Canyon Tree Frog |
28 |
Open |
NW |
BVI |
Tortola, British Virgin Islands |
05/22/04-05/31/04 |
Laughing Gull; Cattle Egret |
14 |
Toxicosis: carbamate suspect |
NW |
CA |
Modoc NWR |
06/14/04-06/21/04 |
Bullfrog |
50 (e) |
Open |
NW |
CA |
Monterey County |
02/13/04-03/25/04 |
Band-Tailed Pigeon |
2,000(e) |
Parasitism: trichomoniasis |
CFG |
CA |
Tehama County |
03/04/04-03/09/04 |
Band-Tailed Pigeon |
40 |
Parasitism: trichomoniasis suspect |
CFG |
CA |
Yucca Valley and Morongo Valley |
03/23/04-06/11/04 |
Mourning Dove |
1,400(e) |
Parasitism: trichomoniasis |
CFG |
FL |
Jefferson County |
02/29/04-ongoing |
Northern Cardinal; Bobwhite Quail |
13 |
Open |
FL |
FL |
Pinellas County |
05/11/04-ongoing |
Mallard; Muscovy; American Coot; Unidentified Cormorant; Unidentified Fish |
76 (e) |
Botulism suspect |
FL |
GA |
Douglas County |
04/12/04-04/16/04 |
Cedar Waxwing |
67 (e) |
Trauma |
SCW |
GA |
McIntosh County |
03/25/04-03/27/04 |
Ring-Billed Gull; Fish Crow |
20 |
Toxicosis: CHE-inhibiting cmpd |
SCW |
IA |
Dickinson County |
06/17/04-06/23/04 |
Canada Goose |
20 (e) |
Toxicosis: organophosphorus cmpd. suspect |
NW |
IL |
Winnebago County |
06/27/04-ongoing |
Little Brown Bat |
20 (e) |
Open |
NW |
KY |
Rockcastle County |
04/20/04-ongoing |
Jefferson Salamander; Marbled Salamander; Wood Frog; Eastern Red-Spotted Newt; Green Frog |
500 (e) |
Viral Infection: Ranavirus |
NW |
MA |
Barnstable County |
05/04/04-ongoing |
Common Eider |
200 (e) |
Parasitism: acanthocephaliasis |
NW |
MN |
Isanti County |
06/02/04-06/08/04 |
Wood Frog |
300 (e) |
Viral Infection: Ranavirus |
NW |
MN |
Lac Qui Parle WMA |
05/30/04-08/01/04 |
American White Pelican |
200 (e) |
Open |
NW |
MN |
Lake of the Woods County |
06/17/04-ongoing |
American White Pelican; Ring-Billed Gull; Double-Crested Cormorant |
82 (e) |
Open |
NW |
MS |
Harrison County |
02/10/04-ongoing |
Bullfrog; Southern Leopard Frog |
30 |
Parasitism: Perkinsus-like organism |
NW |
ND |
Chase Lake NWR |
05/15/04-05/19/04 |
American White Pelican |
10 (e) |
Botulism type C |
NW |
ND |
Long Lake NWR |
06/03/04-06/21/04 |
American White Pelican |
4 |
Open |
NW |
ND |
Sheridan County |
05/30/04-06/05/04 |
American White Pelican |
8 (e) |
Open |
NW |
ND |
Sullys Hill NWR |
05/27/04-06/02/04 |
Double-Crested Cormorant |
13 |
Open |
NW |
NM |
Sierra County |
04/03/04-05/11/04 |
Tiger Salamander |
100 (e) |
Viral Infection: Ranavirus |
NW |
NV |
Clark County |
06/01/04-07/20/04 |
Unidentified Duck; Killdeer; American Avocet; Unidentified Quail; Unidentified Avian |
300 (e) |
Botulism type C |
NW |
OR |
Douglas County |
05/11/04-05/11/04 |
Vaux's Swift |
35 (e) |
Pulmonary edema |
NW |
SC |
Anderson County |
02/29/04-03/03/04 |
Common Grackle |
15 (e) |
Septicemia |
SCW |
SD |
Brown County |
05/28/04-06/07/04 |
Cedar Waxwing |
30 (e) |
Toxicosis: cyanide |
NW |
VA |
Southampton County |
06/25/04-06/25/04 |
Canada Goose |
5 |
Toxicosis: CHE-inhibiting cmpd |
NW |
VA |
Virginia Beach County |
06/11/04-06/25/04 |
Mallard |
36 |
Toxicosis: CHE-inhibiting cmpd |
NW |
VA |
Virginia Beach County |
05/14/04-05/18/04 |
Muscovy; Mallard |
30 (e) |
Duck plague |
NW |
WI |
Sawyer County |
04/18/04-05/29/04 |
Great Blue Heron |
107 |
Trauma: storm |
NW |
Updates and Corrections: |
Reported State |
Location |
Dates |
Species |
Mortality |
Diagnosis |
Reported By |
FL |
Duval County |
01/30/04-04/01/04 |
Eastern Brown Pelican |
50 (e) |
Open |
NW |
TX |
Nueces County |
01/02/04-01/04/04 |
Northern Gannet |
8 (e) |
Open |
NW |
US |
All continental states except CO, DC, DE, ID, MA, MD, ME, MT, NC, NH, NM, NV, OR, RI, SC, UT, VT, WA and WV |
01/02/04-ongoing |
American Crow; Unidentified Crow; Blue Jay; Unidentified Hawk; Common Grackle |
500 (e) |
Viral Infection: West Nile |
CDC, NW, ST |
(e) = estimate
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCW), USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NW),
California Fish and Game (CFG), Florida Game and Fish (FL).
Written and compiled by Kathryn Converse/Rex Sohn - Western US, Grace McLaughlin - Eastern US, Christine Lemanski ,
NWHC. The Quarterly Wildlife Mortality Report is available at http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov. To report mortality or receive
information about this report, contact the above NWHC staff, or for Hawaiian Islands contact Thierry Work.
Phone: (608) 270-2400, FAX: (608) 270-2415 or e-mail: kathy_converse@usgs.gov. USGS National Wildlife Health
Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, WI 53711.
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Quarterly Mortality Reports |
West Nile Virus Continued Spread across North American Continent in 2003 (CORRECTION).
By the end of 2003, West Nile virus (WNV) activity was detected in 45 continental states and the District of
Columbia, 7 Canadian provinces, and in several Mexican states. Interestingly, although WNV was detected in the
state of Washington in 2002, WNV activity was not detected there in 2003. As of January 2004, over 13,000 dead
birds have tested positive for WNV. The list of species found positive for WNV continues to grow longer,
currently with over 220 avian, 22 mammalian and 1 reptilian species. In addition to the wildlife species,
almost 6000 horses and over 11,000 human cases (including 231 deaths) in 2003 were reported by public health
agencies in the United States and Canada. Although the number of reported human cases was significantly
greater in 2003, the actual number of the severe form of disease (meningitis/encephalitis) is similar to that
reported in 2002. At this time, there is no direct evidence for any significant change in the virulence of
the WNV strain in North America. The Midwestern states were the primary foci of activity in 2002, while
in 2003 the Rocky Mountain states of CO, WY, and MT were the major foci of virus activity in 2003.
Based on observed trends of WNV activity in North America, public health and wildlife officials in the
western United States are anticipating high WNV activity in their states in 2004. It remains unknown if
and when WNV will arrive in Hawaii and Alaska, and the impact WNV will have on the avifauna of these states.
Acanthocephalan infections in Massachusetts common eiders.
Beginning in early May 2004 and continuing into early June, sick and dead common eiders were reported
along Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Approximately 350 common eiders were reported dead in Wellfleet Bay
through counts made by wildlife rehabilitators and National Park Service personnel. Birds were submitted
to the National Wildlife Health Center, where it was found that large numbers of acanthocephalans had
severely damaged the intestines. Some birds also had very high numbers of cestodes that may have
compromised the birds’ nutritional status. The NWHC Epizoo database contains information on 14 mortality
events involving common eiders. There were eight mortality events that occurred before 1990; six were
attributed to avian cholera and occurred off the coast of Maine. Of the six mortality events since 1990,
one on the St. Lawrence nesting islands was caused by avian cholera and three that occurred off the coast
of Cape Cod were attributed to acanthocephalans.
Avian Botulism at a New Site in Nevada.
In mid June 2004, personnel of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Las Vegas, Nevada Field Office
reported mortality of waterfowl, shorebirds and an occasional songbird or upland game bird at a nature
preserve encompassing secondary and tertiary wastewater treatment ponds. The facility includes 122 acres
with 14 separate wetlands and no previous history of avian mortality. By the first FWS site visit on June
16, approximately 200 dead birds had been collected and deposited in a landfill by treatment plant workers.
Three hundred to five hundred water birds remained at risk. The weather had been unusually hot
(daytime highs >1000 F) for several weeks. FWS biologists collected two weak, lethargic ducks with
drooping heads for diagnostic evaluation at the NWHC. At necropsy no significant gross pathological
lesions were observed and botulism type C toxin was confirmed in blood from both ducks. The FWS biologists
encouraged the treatment plant personnel to intensify their surveillance and carcass collection efforts.
Over the course of the next month 100 more birds were collected. A liver culture from one bird contained
Riemerella (Pasteurella) anatipestifer, the agent of New Duck Disease; however, no gross or microscopic
pathological lesions consistent with that disease were observed in the duck.
Cyanide intoxication of songbirds detected.
For the second year in a row, cedar waxwing mortality in South Dakota appears to be linked to
cyanide toxicity following ingestion of buds from Cotoneaster pyracantha shrubs. This thorny
evergreen shrub grows 3-8 feet high and is native to southern Europe and western Asia. It is a
favored ornamental because of the numerous white flowers followed by bright red haws. Toxicity
can vary by the amount ingested and clinical signs include initial rapid respirations followed
by slow breathing, anxiety, confusion, vomiting and dizziness. This year an estimated 30 cedar
waxwings were reported in the Aberdeen, South Dakota area between May and June. In 2003, the timing
of 200 cedar waxwing deaths was first correlated with their feeding in budding and flowering shrubs
that contain cyanogenic glycosides. Analysis of tissues from birds in 2003 and 2004 found levels of
cyanide were elevated but below the 1.0 ppm toxic dose. The combination of time between death and
handling of samples could account for lowering of the tissues cyanide levels. Analysis of GI contents
and plant samples by South Dakota State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in 2003 and 2004 showed levels of
cyanide >200 ppm the toxic range to all animals. In 2002, an estimated 100 waxwings died in the
Aberdeen area from late May through July. It was suspected from field observations and necropsy
examinations that the birds were poisoned but the connection to ingestion of Cotoneaster sp. was
unknown and no cyanide tests were done. NWHC acknowledges the staff of the Sand Lake National
Wildlife Refuge staff whose observation and collection of birds and plant materials over the past
three years allowed this investigation to be completed.
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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