Third Detection of H5N1 in Michigan

[Mamabird]

This time H5N1 was detected in mallard ducks in St. Claire Co, north of Detroit. Of course, now USDA is not issuing News Releases on these findings, so you have to use the link below to keep track:

[[http://wildlifedisease.nbii.gov/ai/LPAITable.pdf]]

Also please note that USDA refuses to release test results on H5N1 samples or any genetic sequences.

[HenryN]

Re: Third Detection of H5N1 in Michigan

Yes, when there are too many sightings, the reports lower the profile.

[Blue]

Re: Third Detection of H5N1 in Michigan

I have tried to pull up the link. It is saying that it is unavailable.

[Cindie]

Re: Third Detection of H5N1 in Michigan

I tried to pull it up as well and it says unavialable.

[HenryN]

Re: Third Detection of H5N1 in Michigan

I have tried to pull up the link. It is saying that it is unavailable.

The link doesn't work with brackets. This link should be fine

http://wildlifedisease.nbii.gov/ai/LPAITable.pdf

[HenryN]

Re: Third Detection of H5N1 in Michigan

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/10270603/H5N1_Michigan_Again.html

[Sharpe]

Re: Third Detection of H5N1 in Michigan

It may be unrelated, but it should be pointed out in this regard that at least two of the Great Lakes in the vicinity--Lakes Michigan and Ontario are currently experiencing the biggest lethal outbreaks of birds in decades, (though they are being blamed on avian botulism). Below are examples of articles.

Botulism is killing migratory birds in Lake Michigan
The die-off of loons, grebes, cormorants and other migrating birds is linked to invasive species of mussels and fish in the Great Lakes.
Tom Meersman, Star Tribune

Last update: October 24, 2006 ? 9:34 PM

Weekly Minnesota fishing report

Wisconsin's Lake Petenwell yields trophy muskies

A new chapter for Swan Lake -- without carp

Botulism is killing migratory birds in Lake Michigan

Fish with cultural significance added to White Earth Lake
Hundreds of loons, grebes, mergansers, cormorants and other migrating birds have been killed in Lake Michigan recently, most likely from bacteria linked to non-native fish and mussels.

Biologists at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore estimated this week that 2,600 dead birds have washed up on beaches during the past two months. It is the first large-scale bird die-off in Lake Michigan in decades.

"I've worked here for almost 30 years and I've never seen anything like it," said Steve Yancho, chief of natural resources at the park's office in Empire, Mich. He said the cause of the deaths seems to be Type E botulism, which occurs naturally in the sediment of the lake, but rarely enters the food chain.

Many wildlife biologists around the Great Lakes have noted similar mass bird deaths since 1999 in Lakes Erie, Ontario and Huron. Lake Superior seems to be the only Great Lake that has not been affected so far, said Doug Jensen, aquatic invasive species coordinator for the Minnesota Sea Grant at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

He said he doesn't know whether similar problems will occur in Lake Superior, because scientists are still trying to understand how water temperature and other factors may play a role in transforming the botulism bacterium into a potent neurotoxin.

What's clear from the evidence, said Jensen, is that the die-offs involve the interaction of two invasive species -- quagga mussels and a type of fish called round gobies -- which came originally from the Black and Caspian seas. They were carried into the Great Lakes in the ballast water of oceangoing ships and have been spreading since their arrival in the late 1980s.

Biologists believe that the birds die as the neurotoxin makes its way through the aquatic food chain.

First, invasive quagga mussels move into a lake-bottom area, filter the sediment and accumulate the botulism's bacteria, which produce the toxin. Then, the round gobies eat the mussels and become contaminated. Finally, migrating birds spot the dead or dying gobies, eat them and in turn get poisoned.

The toxin attacks the birds' nervous system and paralyzes their muscles, causing large numbers to drown when they can no longer flap their wings or hold up their necks.

Large bird die-offs have occurred in late summer when gulls eat poisoned fish, but especially in the late fall when migrating birds are searching for food.

New York biologists picked up more than 17,000 dead birds along the southern shore of Lake Erie in 2002. The toxin has also killed tens of thousands of other fish that consume gobies, and the gulls that feed on them.

Yancho said the botulism outbreak at Sleeping Bear Dunes occurred just after the piping plover, an endangered bird species, left the area.

"Had they been here when this was going full speed, it could have been disastrous," he said, adding that there are only 50 pairs of piping plovers left in the Great Lakes.

Helen Domske, senior extension specialist at the New York Sea Grant, is especially concerned about loons.

"They're wonderful birds that are such a critical part of the ecosystem," she said. "You start to wonder what kind of impact so many deaths is having on the entire [loon] population."

News from NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

For more information: Maureen Wren, (518) 402-8000

DEC INVESTIGATES DEATH OF LAKE ONTARIO WATER BIRDS

Gulls, Grebes and Loons Discovered To Date Public Advised To Use Caution in Handling Fish and Game

ALBANY, NY -- (10/24/2006; 1519)(EIS) -- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that the agency is investigating the cause of the deaths of numerous water birds found along the shores of eastern Lake Ontario since Saturday, October 21, 2006. DEC advised the public to take precautions in handling birds and other wildlife from these areas until the investigation is completed.

Gulls, grebes, and loons collected by DEC Bureau of Wildlife staff from Sodus Bay to Deer Creek Marsh are being examined by DEC's Wildlife Pathology Unit. Tests for Type E Botulism will be conducted, along with other clinical analyses.

An outbreak of Type E Botulism first appeared in southern Lake Huron in 1998 and spread to Lake Erie in 1999. During 2000, Type E Botulism affected fish and birds in the New York waters of Lake Erie. Thousands of waterbirds, including grebes, loons, gulls, and certain waterfowl, were found washed up on the shoreline. DEC subsequently confirmed Type E Botulism in several species of fish and waterfowl from Lake Erie. Outbreaks have occurred on Lake Erie every year since then, usually during late summer to early winter.

DEC is continuing to gather sick and dead birds and fish to check for botulism or other diseases. As part of an annual monitoring program documenting wildlife impacts from the disease, sweeps of specific stretches of the Great Lakes shorelines occur each fall during peak migration periods. Dead birds and other wildlife are recorded and, when feasible, collected for necropsy and clinical testing.

Type E Botulism was first documented in birds near Lake Ontario in 2002, but the mortality this year is the largest so far. In July 2002 and August 2005, several gulls were tested from the eastern basin of Lake Ontario and many of those tested positive. There have been no reports of any human illnesses associated with these outbreaks. Type E Botulism is a specific strain of botulism most commonly affecting fish-eating birds. The associated neurotoxin produced by actively growing bacterium (Clostridium botulinum) causes paralysis in the affected birds and often results in drowning. The ingestion of the toxin produced by the botulism bacterium and can be harmful to humans who eat contaminated birds or fish. To date, Type E Botulism has not been found in any fish from Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence River.

Hunters and anglers are advised not to harvest waterfowl or fish that appear sick or are acting abnormally. Waterbirds impacted by botulism toxin cannot fly and their legs become paralyzed. They often propel themselves across the water and mudflats with their wings. A sick fish typically will have a hard time remaining upright, will be swimming on its side or belly up, or sometimes floundering on the surface trying to swim down, among other potential signs of sickness.

Cooking may not destroy the botulism toxin. DEC reminds hunters and anglers to take the following precautions for preparing all fish and waterfowl:

-- Harvest only fish and waterfowl that act and look healthy;

-- Wear rubber or plastic protective gloves while filleting, field dressing, skinning or butchering birds, fish or wildlife. Remove and discard intestines soon after harvest and avoid direct contact with intestinal contents;

-- Wash hands, utensils and work surfaces before and after handling any raw food, including fish and game meat;

-- Keep fish and game cool (either with ice or refrigerated below 45 degrees Fahrenheit/7 degrees Celsius) until filleted or butchered, and then refrigerate or freeze; and

-- Cook fish and other seafood to an internal temperature (in the thickest part) of 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius). Cook game birds to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius).

If you must handle dead or dying fish or birds, use rubber or plastic protective gloves or a plastic bag. Any discovery of dead or distressed fish or wildlife, such as water birds showing a condition known as "limberneck" that results from paralysis of the neck muscles, should be reported to DEC's Division of Fish and Wildlife offices in Buffalo at (716) 851-7010, Allegany at (716) 372-0645, Avon at (585) 226-2466, Syracuse at (315) 426-7400, Cortland at (607) 753- 3095, Watertown at (315) 785-2261 or Cape Vincent at (315) 654-2147.

[Niko]

Re: Third Detection of H5N1 in Michigan

It may be unrelated, but it should be pointed out in this regard that at least two of the Great Lakes in the vicinity--Lakes Michigan and Ontario are currently experiencing the biggest lethal outbreaks of birds in decades, (though they are being blamed on avian botulism). Below are examples of articles.

Any evidence of avian influenza testing in these bird deaths?

It is the first large-scale bird die-off in Lake Michigan in decades.

"I've worked here for almost 30 years and I've never seen anything like it," said Steve Yancho, chief of natural resources at the park's office in Empire, Mich. He said the cause of the deaths seems to be Type E botulism, which occurs naturally in the sediment of the lake, but rarely enters the food chain.

DEC is continuing to gather sick and dead birds and fish to check for botulism or other diseases. As part of an annual monitoring program documenting wildlife impacts from the disease, sweeps of specific stretches of the Great Lakes shorelines occur each fall during peak migration periods. Dead birds and other wildlife are recorded and, when feasible, collected for necropsy and clinical testing.