40 bald eagles die in Utah, - West Nile confirmed

[Ronan Kelly]

Mystery illness kills four bald eagles in Utah
Wildlife ? Birds were found with head tremors in four separate locations across northern Utah.
By Brett Prettyman | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Dec 13 2013 02:41 pm ? Updated 6 hours ago
...
All four displayed head tremors ? uncontrolled shaking of the head; something that made Erickson suspicious of possible lead poisoning. But preliminary results from testing at the Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Logan, a cooperative lab with Utah State University and the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, came back with unexpected results.

"There were no really elevated levels in any of the areas that would indicate lead poisoning," Erickson said. "If it had been, there were some things we could do about it."

Instead, Erickson and Patti Richards at the Great Basin center had to watch the symbols of the United States die.

Leslie McFarlane, wildlife disease coordinator with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR), said recent necropsy results from the eagle with the blood results showed indications of encephalitis ? swelling of the brain ? which can be an indication of West Nile virus.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57260109-78/utah-wildlife-eagles-center.html.csp

[Giuseppe]

4 bald eagles die in Utah from similar symptoms (KSL, December 15 2013, extract)

[Source: KSL, full page: (LINK). Extract.]


4 bald eagles die in Utah from similar symptoms

by Brady McCombs, Associated Press


Four bald eagles have died from similar symptoms in northern Utah in the past two weeks, raising alarms among state wildlife officials who are working to determine what happened.

(?)


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[Ronan Kelly]

Re: 4 bald eagles die in Utah from similar symptoms

Mysterious bald eagle deaths under scrutiny in Utah

By Laura Zuckerman, Reuters
Dec. 17, 2013 2:50PM PST


(Reuters) - A number of unexplained bald eagle deaths in Utah when hundreds of the government-protected birds have migrated to wintering grounds in the central Rocky Mountains has wildlife officials worried.

The officials said on Tuesday at least four bald eagles have died and another is close to death. Wildlife specialists said the deaths began December 1 and point to either an outbreak of disease or exposure to some unknown toxin among the raptors in Utah.

The ailing eagles, which have been reported everywhere from front yards to river banks, have died within days of being grounded by such symptoms as leg paralysis and tremors.

"We have no idea what this is or isn't, so we can't rule anything out at this point. But we're taking it very seriously," Leslie McFarlane, Utah wildlife disease coordinator.
...

http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/nm/mysterious-bald-eagle-deaths-under-scrutiny-in-utah

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: 4 bald eagles die in Utah from similar symptoms

Officials probe mysterious bald eagle deaths in Utah
Published December 20, 2013Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY – The number of bald eagles that have died recently from similar symptoms in central-northern Utah is up to five — and Utah wildlife officials are fearful the total may be as high 13.

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources spokesman Mark Hadley said Thursday that a fifth eagle found in Weber County died this week in a rehab center in Ogden. A sixth eagle discovered in Davis County is there with the same head tremors the dead ones had, he said.

An additional seven eagles were found dead in the same two-week period — and wildlife officials fear they may have all died from the same cause, Hadley said. They won't know for sure until tests are done, however, because nobody saw if these eagles had the tremors before dying.
....

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/12/20/officials-probe-mysterious-bald-eagle-deaths-in-utah/

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: 5 bald eagles die in Utah with similar symptoms, other eagles found dead

13th bald eagle dies in Utah
By Janelle Stecklein | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published 4 hours ago ? Updated 3 hours ago
...

Officials said the bird died Saturday, bringing the total deaths to 13 in northern Utah in December alone.

The immature female, who was found by a hiker near Centerville and turned into the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah last week, displayed the same head tremors and lower extremity paralysis as the previous birds.

Test results attempting to pinpoint the cause of deaths are not expected until after Christmas.
...

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57298833-78/utah-wildlife-bald-birds.html.csp

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: 5 bald eagles die in Utah with similar symptoms, other eagles found dead

Four bald eagles being treated as death toll hits 16

By Brett Prettyman | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Dec 26 2013 04:34 pm ? Last Updated Dec 26 2013 10:13 pm
The Isaacson family frequently spots bald eagles in the skies above their Farmington home, but this week?s eagle sighting was different.

...
Officers eventually captured the bird and sent it to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah in Ogden where it is one of four bald eagles showing symptoms of the disease that the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) says has killed 16 raptors since the first week of December.

The latest bird showed up on Christmas Eve from West Point displaying head tremors, lower extremity paralysis and digestive issues.
...
Necropsy test results from the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis., are expected next week after being delayed by the holidays.

The eagles? symptoms are similar to those associated with West Nile virus, but officials will wait for lab results before stating the cause of the deaths.
...

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57310792-78/eagles-wildlife-bald-eagle.html.csp

[Shiloh]

Re: 16 bald eagles die in Utah, - West Nile confirmed

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57...-west.html.csp

Dead Utah eagles killed by West Nile virus
Wildlife ? Seeing the mosquito-borne virus in December ?is a major development,? wildlife disease specialist says.
By Brett prettyman

| The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published 3 hours ago ? Updated 4 minutes ago

They may be the symbol of our nation, but bald eagles are scavengers.

It is that characteristic ? specifically of finding carrion on the water ? that has led to the death of at least 27 bald eagles and impacted many more across northern Utah.

State wildlife officials announced Tuesday that the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis., confirmed West Nile virus is the cause of the eagle deaths. Five more eagles are currently being treated in wildlife rehabilitation centers...

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: 16 bald eagles die in Utah, - West Nile confirmed

West Nile Virus caused 27 bald eagle deaths in December: Utah wildlife officials
Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah

Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press
Published Tuesday, December 31, 2013 3:00PM EST
Last Updated Tuesday, December 31, 2013 4:10PM EST

SALT LAKE CITY -- The mystery illness that has killed 27 bald eagles in Utah this month appears to be West Nile Virus, state officials said Tuesday.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said in a statement that laboratory tests done on some of the first birds found indicate they died from West Nile Virus.
...
Beyond the 27 that have died, officials said five eagles were being treated at a wildlife rehabilitation centre Tuesday. They appeared to be responding well to treatment, officials said.
Utah wildlife officials aren't sure how the eagles caught the virus, but they suspect the birds contracted it by eating Eared Grebes that were infected with the virus and died recently.
...

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/west-...#ixzz2p5wikiPD

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: 27 bald eagles die in Utah, - West Nile confirmed

Now 40 eagles dead, but West Nile outbreak may be in decline
Wildlife ? Fewer sick, live eagles are appearing.
By Brett Prettyman | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published 59 minutes ago ? Updated 58 minutes ago
The number of known dead bald eagles in northern Utah is now at 40 and five remain in wildlife rehabilitation centers with what biologists have identified as West Nile virus.

Leslie McFarlane, wildlife disease specialist with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR), said reports of sick eagles have diminished and that could be a good thing.

"I think we may be done seeing sick birds," she said. "It seems that everything coming in now is dead so I believe that we are not actively transmitting any more."
...

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57358750-78/wildlife-eagles-utah-nile.html.csp

[Emily]

Re: 40 bald eagles die in Utah, - West Nile confirmed

http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/a...es-5155780.php

Utah eagle deaths traced to sick grebes
Updated 6:17 pm, Saturday, January 18, 2014
ALT LAKE CITY (AP) ? Testing has confirmed that more than 50 bald eagles died in Utah after scavenging on dead grebes that had the West Nile virus, the National Wildlife Health Center said.

Wildlife officials earlier confirmed the virus caused the eagle die-off that began Dec. 1 and speculated dead migrating aquatic birds such as grebes were the culprit.

The center announced Friday that follow-up testing on dead Utah grebes showed they had the virus, the first time it has been seen in them. They tested negative for lead, avian influenza and other possible causes of death. Up to 20,000 of the grebes died.

West Nile virus, which is spread by mosquitoes, usually infects birds during warmer months...

Did this spread grebe-to-grebe?