Re: Officials discuss animal die-off response
More on warm-weather botulism...
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Everything is just ducky
October 01,2006
ROSELEE PAPANDREA
DAILY NEWS STAFF
HUBERT ? Toni O?Neil wasn?t so sure that many of the 30 ducklings rescued from downtown Swansboro two months ago would survive a day.
But after vigilant care at Possumwood Acres Wildlife Sanctuary in Hubert where O?Neil, a wildlife rehabilitator, works to bring sick or abandoned creatures back to life, 15 of the 30 ducklings not only survived but thrived.
On Saturday, the young
Muscovy ducks were ready for the next phase of their lives, and two families were eager to provide homes.
A 3-acre pond already stocked with fish, turtles and plenty of visits from wildlife seemed like the perfect spot for nine of the ducks, and John and Ann Carson of Hubert couldn?t wait to bring them home. Shirley Ballantine, who lives on Old 30 Road in the Jacksonville area, added six to her two ponds.
The three adult Muscovy ducks that survived will remain at Possumwood Acres.
When O?Neil took in the ducklings in late July, she never intended to return them to downtown Swansboro. At the time,
she wasn?t certain what caused many of the ducks that roamed freely in the town?s waterfront area to die.
Officials with the N.C. Department of Agriculture
said Friday that botulinum toxin type C ? a type of botulism found in birds ? was the culprit, said Brian Long, spokesman for the Department of Agriculture.
The finding didn?t surprise O?Neil but after treating the ducks, including the many that didn?t make it,
she is still convinced that more than botulism is to blame.
?We had
ducklings running around and eating,? O?Neil said. ?
They were fine and then in an hour they were dead.?
She thinks they were also poisoned.
?I think some of them got a double whammy,? O?Neil said. ?You can get botulism and live.
I think they were already weakened and succumbed to the botulism or the other way around.?
Dr. Mary Ann McBride, the
assistant state veteran with the N.C. Department of Agriculture?s veterinary division,
said the bacteria that causes botulism is everywhere and it?s not unusual to see it grow in hot months.
?
When it gets into stagnant water or a low-oxygen environment, it grows rapidly,? she said. ?
It takes very little toxin to kill water fowl.?
State officials were called to Swansboro after more than 10 adult ducks and at least 25 ducklings were found dead. Samples were taken and a necropsy ? an animal autopsy ? was done on one of the dead birds. McBride
knew it wasn?t bird flu immediately, but the exact cause of death was more difficult to determine.
Samples were sent to a lab out of state and the results were in Friday. While people who care for the ducks need to be sure water and food supplies are always fresh, McBride said,
this form of botulism won?t hurt humans.
?This is not a public health risk,? she said.
Tests don?t indicate that the ducks were poisoned. A common term for what the ducks had is ?limber neck,? McBride said.
?Typically when we see this,
they can?t hold their heads up,? McBride said. ?
They undergo a form of paralysis because they can?t control their muscles.
Some were able to pull through this because they didn?t get a lethal dose.?
Officials in Swansboro are planning to take a few steps in an effort to prevent a situation like this from happening again, said Swansboro police Chief Ed Parrish.
?We plan to formulate some sort of education flier and get that out to individuals who may be involved with the ducks,? he said. He?s also going to get officers to check the areas were the ducks congregate.
?We will be on the lookout for spoiled food and unsanitary conditions that might cause problems,? Parrish said. ?We will attempt to monitor and address the issues as they might arise.?
O?Neil is grateful that she won?t have to worry about the brood that was adopted Saturday.
?I want these guys to have a good life where we don?t have to worry about anything happening to them,? she said.
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