Duck Die-Off in Idaho

[under the radar]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

Sheriff: County should have been in on duck death investigation

...
<TABLE class=photo-bdr cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top></TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline vAlign=top></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Thursday?s conference call gave no clues to the cause of the duck deaths, Higens said.

?A lot of what they talked about was really over my head, but to make a long story short, they told us they still don?t have any decisive answers to the cause,? Higens said.

Initial tests did indicate the ducks did not die from avian flu, Higens said.

?They are going to have another conference call on Monday,? he said, ?hopefully with some results to the testing that is being done.?

I hope Mr. Higins will be in attendance at Monday's conference call and will give us a report of the procedings and any test results that are discussed.

 

[susieM]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

Looking at the pictures....the Koreans dress better (more protectively) for these sorts of problems than the US authorities. Perhaps it was as so not to panic the population?

And...would the warm temperature of the spring water have anthing to do with this die-off? Maybe by incubating some kind of baddie? (just hoping and clutching at straws)

 

[Blue]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

Thank you to UnderwoodEJ:

"Hello everyone, sorry for the late reply.. The wife had me put up Christmas lights on the house when i got back from my trip lol... Anyway, as promised I will share with you on what I know.. Today I made a trip to the location where the mallards died off, i went with a friend from the fish/game. First, there are over 3,000 birds that are dead (and some are still dying off as we speak). Second, The state and Federal officials have absolutely NO clue to how these birds died (H5N1 was discussed as well as bacteria from feed as the two most likely causes)...that is a quote from the fish/game people. Third, There have been no news reports locally here in the treasure valley on any birds dying. Fourth, The Emergency Operation Center in Boise is on high alert as well as fish/game for more dying birds. The area has been quarantined about 300yards away from the dead birds. I was told by federal officials that we should expect to see all kinds of reports that claim that the birds died of something or another, ignore them for now...tests are being run as we speak. Bottom line is they are trying to get people to prepare, but at the same time they (federal) are mandated not to spread fear among the general population. Catch 22. I'm making a trip tomorrow as well to speak to more people and walk through the Emergency management center in Boise, ID. I will gather more information and hopefully the result of the tests being done on the birds. My friend said that we should view this (if this hopefully isn't Avian Influenza) as a dry run. So far I think that i can speak for he and I that the state isn't really up to par. Nor do we think the Feds are. The down side is that when/if they declare this H5N1 certain plans roll into action from the state pandemic planning, which a lot of it isn't good... will create a lot of panic. I'm not sure if you all have read your states pandemic plan and those states around you,(because they could affect you), but i would suggest it. Again sorry for the late reply, and not a whole lot more information than what most of you already know, but i will post here daily for a current update. Goodnight all...talk to you tomorrow. "

and -

".....The weather has been raining but today it has cleared out and we will have overcast for the next week. The temp. will drop in the teens for the lows and highs will be around 40 something. Yes it is a real possibility that the birds died from tainted grain, but most farmers cover their grain during the winter to prevent molding and such, which would make it very hard for a large number of birds to eat enough grain for thousands of birds. Also no farmer saw these birds eating their grain at any point. Kind of hard to miss thousands of birds eating your grain...if you ask me, that last part was my opinion. I will post more later today as I said before, I will be going back out to the location today."

 

[unpathedhaunt]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

Reports continue on the die-off, but no definitive answer. Since some have pointed to aspergillosis as the likely culprit, can one assume that the symptoms observed in the dead mallards do not fit the description of other culprits, such as AV?
Why does there seem to be some comfort level in the diagnosis of aspergillosis when necessary tests and definitive diagnoses have not yet been determined? Am I missing something?

http://www.idahostatesman.com/107/story/63866.html


DECEMBER 15, 2006
Infection could be killing ducks in Idaho
Agriculture experts await test results from ducks' tissue;close to 2,500 ducks have died near Land Springs Creek
Officials still don't know why as many as 2,500 mallard ducks have died in a bizarre cluster along a southeastern Idaho creek bed, but preliminary test results indicate a bacterial or fungal infection could be to blame, a state game official said late Thursday.
Paul Slota, a wildlife expert with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center, said a fungal infection known as aspergillosis was the likely killer, according to a report from Reuters news service.
"The results are certainly consistent with that diagnosis," Slota said in the news report.
More tests are now planned on water and grain, said David Parrish, supervisor for the Magic Valley region of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
"We have some preliminary results," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "It could be some type of bacterial infection or a fungal-related infection. But we haven't confirmed that for sure."
Parrish and members of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, the state Department of Agriculture, the federal Homeland Security Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conferred by conference call late Thursday.
He declined to say specifically what was discussed, but didn't rule out that more ducks might die in the area.
"We may have a few more, but that's a little difficult to predict right now until we can determine the exact cause of the mortality," he said.
He said the die-off was not typical.
"It's fairly uncommon, especially in these types of numbers and in such a confined area," he said.
The tests were being performed at the Fish and Wildlife Service's national laboratory in Wisconsin, the University of Idaho and Washington State University.
The ducks mysteriously began dying last week around Land Springs Creek, near the remote town of Oakley, about 180 miles southeast of Boise. On Thursday, state workers cleared the last remaining duck carcasses from the area in pickup trucks. They brought the bodies to a nearby incineration site.
Migratory mallards from Canada and their local cousins staggered and struggled to breathe before collapsing, Parrish said. He said every mallard in a radius of several miles has died ? approximately 2,500, up from an earlier estimate of 1,000.
"I've never seen anything like this in 20 years here," he said. "There were dead mallards everywhere ? in the water and on the banks. It was odd; they were in a very small area."
The massive outbreak is puzzling scientists because only mallard ducks are dying. Golden eagles, geese, magpies, crows and other birds in the area all remain healthy.
In the past, small outbreaks of botulism have killed water birds in Idaho, but the disease quickly spreads among different species.
"Typically, you'd see this spread into other types of waterfowl as well," Parrish said.
Mark Drew, a wildlife veterinarian with the state Department of Agriculture, said earlier that investigators were not ruling out any cause of death, but bird flu virus remained unlikely.
The symptoms ? bacterial lesions in the lungs and hemorrhaging in the heart wall ? probably point to a bacterial infection, he said.
Drew said the ducks likely were exposed to a single contamination source and gathered at the creek, their mutual roosting point, to die.
No dead ducks have been spotted anywhere besides the creek. Investigators did not find any dead marine life in the shallow stream.

 

[yielddude]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

Blue/UnderwoodEJ, thanks so much, it is "comforting" to get a first hand report from fellow flutrackers. yield

 

[Corn]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

One day "Not if but when " H5N1 arrives. it will not be the end of the world. We will have to learn to live and deal with it.

If this were H5N1, there will be more die offs down the road. No one will be able to stop it or keep the word from getting out eventually. Best we could ever do world wide is slow the virus down.

Today moldy grain. Tomorrow bacterial infection. Can't go on forever.

I would like to trust and believe our officials. Can we?

We need more data.

 

[yielddude]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

Mystery solved?
Investigators suspect fungal infection in duck deaths
By Matt Christensen
Times-News writer
OAKLEY - Wildlife experts are one step closer to determining what's killed about 2,500 ducks along Land Creek Springs, a waterway near Oakley.

Lab results and toxicology reports from labs in Wisconsin, Washington and Idaho show a viral infection was present in tissue samples taken from dead ducks gathered near the stream.

Aspergillosis, an infection caused by the Aspergillus fungus, likely killed the birds said Kelton Hatch, a conservation educator for Fish and Game.

The fungus probably came from moldy corn or grain ingested by the ducks at a nearby farm. He said investigators are trying to locate the feed before more ducks are affected.

"Basically, this stuff gets in their lungs and destroys their lung capacity and causes hemorrhaging around the heart," Hatch said. "That's what's killing them."

Conservation officers found only 20 dead ducks near the stream Friday. Earlier in the week, they were finding as many as 500 dead ducks a day.

Hatch said he thinks the infection is isolated to mallards because the department has not found dead birds from any other species. He said other species of birds were feeding on duck carcasses before the department removed the ducks but does not think the infection can be spread from bird to bird.

Hunters discovered a few dead ducks late last week and alerted Fish and Game. Biologists from the department responded that day and found 10 dead mallards. Two days later, they returned and found 500 more. At last count, the death toll was about 2,500 animals - all mallards, all found dead in a radius of only a few miles.

An investigation is under way that includes Fish and Game, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Agriculture and South Central District Health.

According to a statement issued by Fish and Game, waterfowl die-offs are common. In just the past six months, there have been 16 events across the nation in which more than 1,000 birds died.

Times-News staff writer Matt Christensen covers natural resources. Contact him at 735-3243 or at matt.christensen@lee.net.

http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2006/12/16/news/top_story/102593.txt

 

[Thornton]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

Where exactly did the die off occur. On Google Earth for Oakley we can see it is at the foothills surrounded by farms with irrigation systems. To the southwest is a dam with a lake within a steep canyon. I don't know much about ducks except that they eat fish. Seems like there would be more fish in the lake. The lake also would not be a good source for farm runoff. However, since the description generally refers to Lands Creek, then I am looking near the irrigated fields. Do we have a more definite location??
JT

 

[NawtyBits]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

Lab results and toxicology reports from labs in Wisconsin, Washington and Idaho show a viral infection was present in tissue samples taken from dead ducks gathered near the stream.

I thought a viral infection was different from a fungal infection?

If I remember my High school science (and that was 25 years ago), viruses and fungi are 2 different animals.

 

[MHSC]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

Where exactly did the die off occur. On Google Earth for Oakley we can see it is at the foothills surrounded by farms with irrigation systems. To the southwest is a dam with a lake within a steep canyon. I don't know much about ducks except that they eat fish. Seems like there would be more fish in the lake. The lake also would not be a good source for farm runoff. However, since the description generally refers to Lands Creek, then I am looking near the irrigated fields. Do we have a more definite location??
JT

Thornton,

The find was made along Land Creek Springs, a stream located about 15 miles southeast of Burley.

 

[susieM]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

Of all the things that I have read about BF during the last two years, Blue's post was the scariest...especially the bit about the authorities not wanting to create panic.

 

[Thornton]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

Thanks MHSC.
Oakley is located at altitude 4559 ft
42 deg 14m 33.64 N
113deg 5min 54.42 W
Within a 5 mile radius of the little town the geography varies by over 1,000 ft in altitude, includes a lake behind a dam in the canyon and then to west North and east of the town is irrigated farmland.
I was hoping to pinpoint if the occurence is in the hills or irrigated farmland.
jt

 

[Sonny]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

Thornton,
Here's some additional info on the location.


"The ducks were found in Cassia County along the Land Creek Springs. That's about 15 miles south east of Burley near Oakley. The owner of the land says a hunter first spotted all of the dead mallards on Friday."

 

[Thornton]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

OK Thanks.
I am learning all the time here. Mallards apparently do not eat fish and prefer shallow water. So I am looking in the area of the irrigated fields near the town of Oakley.
http://www.nhptv.org/Natureworks/mallard.htm

Most of the mallard's diet is made up of plants. It eats the seeds of grasses and sedges and the leaves, stems and seeds of aquatic plants. It occasionally eats insects and crustaceans and mollusks, especially when it is young. It prefers to forage in water that is less than 16 inches deep so it can duck its head down and reach plants at the bottom. The mallard sometimes forages on farmland for grains like rice, corn, oats, wheat and barley.

 

[Snicklefritz]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

"OAKLEY - Wildlife experts are one step closer to determining what's killed about 2,500 ducks along Land Creek Springs, a waterway near Oakley.

Lab results and toxicology reports from labs in Wisconsin, Washington and Idaho show a viral infection was present in tissue samples taken from dead ducks gathered near the stream.

Aspergillosis, an infection caused by the Aspergillus fungus, likely killed the birds said Kelton Hatch, a conservation educator for Fish and Game."


We already know they are speculating that the Aspergillus fungs killed the ducks, but then go on to say they are 'one step closer'. This implies that the next paragraph is what brings researchers one step closer. i.e. that a virus was present in tissue sample.

Then they return to the 'likely' cause of death. It is possible, even likely with ducks that a virus infection was present (remember ducks are the host reservoir for a whole host of avian influenzas), and yet, the Aspergillus fungus is the immediate cause of death.

Of course, the reverse scenario could also be true. It could be that Aspergillus fungus is present, but a virus is the immediate cause of death. So, it seems to me that a diagnosis would have to come from a combination of labratory results and clincial observation of symptoms and other autopsy findings combined with behavioral knowledge of mallard ducks and the local environment. This is not so simple.

For us flubies, one salient fact is important. Was HPAI H5N1 detected in the ducks whether it was the cause of death, a contributing cause, or not relevant at all to the cause of death?

 

[Sonny]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

There doesn't appear to be a shortage of creeks or other water sources in this area.
(bottom link)

http://www.topozone.com/states/Idaho.asp?county=Cassia

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=42.38061&lon=-113.6303&s=250&size=l&symshow=n&u=4&datum=nad27&layer=DRG

 

[cartski]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

There are some interesting questions in this situation, at least to my meager understanding of these things.

Of the ducks tested/diagnosed for Aspergillus, are we going to see a long array of PCR results as well? And if so, will that help the tracking of viruses? Can we confirm contact, based on genetic evidence, of these birds with Alaskan birds, for example?

Is there any statistical value in suddenly having 3000 subjects for analysis and study? Is there any value to digging up carcasses for further sampling?

Were any of these ducks banded for migration analysis? How far west and north could these ducks have travelled? Would they have come from the east, against the wind off the mountains and the fall's north winds?

If the infencted grain can be found, say in Chilliwack, how can that fact be used in pandemic planning or risk communication?

Assuming this were a mass H5N1 outbreak, and given the apparent lax safety precautions (conjecture), and applying the attack rates of persons who attended the other mass outbreaks, what would be the expected number of diseased persons?

Can we expect a formal publc inquiry/analysis of this event?

I absolutely mean no offence to the people directly involved in this outbreak. I'm merely being inquisitive.

J.

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org/>

[1]
Date: 14 Dec 2006
From: Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry@btinternet.com
Source: Reuters [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N14186968.htm>


Two thousand mallard ducks in Idaho likely died after they ate moldy grain
and contracted a fatal infection, scientists said on Thursday.

Paul Slota, a wildlife expert with the United States Geological Survey's
National Wildlife Health Center, said a fungal infection known as
aspergillosis was the likely killer. "The results are certainly consistent
with that diagnosis," Slota said. Dave Parrish, regional supervisor for the
Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said further tests would be conducted.

The preliminary finding eased fears that the massive mallard die-off, which
experts say is unprecedented in Idaho, was linked to bird flu. Birds can
contract aspergillosis after feeding on waste grain and silage pits during
bad weather, according to the National Wildlife Health Center.

Large scale, rapid die-offs among waterfowl have chiefly affected mallards,
it said. An estimated 2000 mallards died between Friday and Wednesday near
the agricultural community of Burley, about 150 miles (241 km) south east
of Boise.

State fish and game officers on Wednesday retrieved carcasses from a stream
clogged with dead and dying mallards. The stream is surrounded by farmland
and a cattle feedlot, potential sources of the moldy grain, officials said.

Concerns over the deadly H5N1 flu strain and an extensive national
monitoring network prompted officials to submit samples from Idaho to labs
specializing in detecting avian influenza and drew the US Department of
Homeland Security into the investigation.

A similar aspergillosis outbreak killed 500 mallards in Iowa in 2005, the
wildlife health center said. Moldy grain was the culprit in that case. The
disease is not contagious.

[byline: Laura Zuckerman]

--
Mary Marshall
<tropical.forestry@btinternet.com

[Although aspergillosis is a possibility and has caused high mortality in
the Iowa case, this is not the common picture. It also is unclear as why it
is only mallards and not other birds. There are other possibilities. Read
the next post for a different point of view. - Mod.TG]

******
[2]
Date: 15 Dec 2006
From: Woody Fraser <fraserw@doacs.state.fl.us>


The hemorrhage in the heart and the fact that the disease is restricted to
ducks brings to mind DVE (duck viral enteritis).

--
Woody Fraser
Biologist
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Kissimmee Diagnostic Lab
Kissimmee, FL
<fraserw@doacs.state.fl.us>

[Duck viral enteritis, also known as duck plague, is caused by a
herpesvirus. There are many strains of this virus that vary greatly in
their pathogenicity but not their antigenicity. Generally this disease is
characterized by high mortality. It often affects older ducks more
severely. Geese and swans as well as ducks of all ages are susceptible.

Clinical findings may include hemorrhages in various tissues, especially
the heart, liver, pancreas, and mesentery. Though these are not
pathognomonic lesions, they are most prominent. Because death is often
quite sudden, there may be few lesions. Other lesions may be hemorrhages in
the esophagus, oral cavity, cloaca, cecum and rectum. Necrosis and
hemorrhages are present in all the lymphoid tissues.

A good review of DVE can be found on ProMED-mail post 20050602.1537.

Since DVE affects more than just ducks it is still curious that only ducks
in this case are mentioned. Perhaps there are only ducks in the area? -
Mod.TG]

******
[3]
Date: 15 Dec 2006
From: David S Blehert <dblehert@usgs.gov>
Source: USGS - National Wildlife Health Center


The US Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center has completed
necropsies on 6 mallards and one American wigeon from the Idaho wild-bird
die-off.

Gross observations and preliminary laboratory results are consistent with
acute fungal infection. Body conditions ranged from good with primarily
lung involvement to fair with more advanced fungal plagues throughout the
body. Multiple laboratory tests are pending to confirm genus and species
identity of the fungus and to rule out any other disease problems.

--
David S Blehert, PhD
Microbiologist
USGS - National Wildlife Health Center
<http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/>http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/
<dblehert@usgs.gov>

[We appreciate Dr Blehert's response, which is posted here as an
authoritative response. Thank you, Dr Blehert. - Mod.TG]

[see also:
Undiagnosed die-off, mallard ducks - USA (ID) 20061214.3512
Duck viral enteritis - USA (DC) 20050602.1537]

...............tg/pg/sh


*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Become a ProMED-mail Premium Subscriber at
<http://www.isid.org/ProMEDMail_Premium.shtml>
************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at <http://www.promedmail.org>.
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.
############################################################
############################################################

 

[e_armigeri]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

:magnify: keep ears and eyes open for any nearby farm culling activity.
(is this a dairy, poultry , swine or cattle producing area?)
or worse, for increases in the weekly mortality tables at cdc.

"downstream" responses may come before the official
announcements in a bureaucratic world.

"don't eat the birds" is the initial announcement.
(i'm unsure if this announcement followed any previously identified
smaller die offs from the proffered cause.)

bureaucratic announcements can take a while to "spin" up.
has delaware published their completed results yet?
e_

 

[MHSC]

Re: Duck Die-Off in Idaho

has delaware published their completed results yet?
e_

No results have been posted from Delaware yet.