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Source: http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2009/09/14/97015_tasmania-news.html
September 14, 2009 10:21am Make us your homepage
Human link to bird killer
ANNE MATHER
September 14, 2009 07:07am
VETS investigating a spate of sparrow deaths in Tasmania have warned the disease could spread to humans.
Laboratory testing has revealed a new strain of salmonella as the cause of mass sparrow deaths across Hobart during winter.
Investigating vets have forwarded the findings to Tasmania's health authorities and wildlife disease experts around Australia.
The strain of salmonella, called Salmonella typhimurium DT160, leads to typhoid fever in humans.
The strain of the disease is new to Tasmania but has been detected in other parts of the world and has led to outbreaks in humans in Norway and New Zealand.
Report author David Obendorf, a veterinary pathologist, investigated the sparrow deaths with the help of Sandy Bay vet James Harris and the University of Tasmania Medical School.
Dr Obendorf said there was a risk the disease could be passed on to other wildlife, domestic pets, livestock and humans.
He has forwarded his findings to Tasmania's Chief Veterinary Officer and the Director of Public Health.
"The concern is whether it's going to move into other birds or do what happened in New Zealand, for example, and lead to a spike in human infections," Dr Obendorf said.
The report says that when people caught the disease from birds in New Zealand, it resulted in "a high hospitalisation rate and there was one recorded death of an elderly man".
Dr Obendorf said sparrows tended to congregate in places where humans were present, including outdoor cafes, which could lead to infection.
"Once you detect this in wildlife, it has the spillover effect of infecting other species, including humans," he said.
"It could also affect domestic animals such as cats and dogs."
He said the "cascading effect" also could harm livestock.
In his report, Dr Obendorf wrote that in the 2001 outbreak in New Zealand, it was found that sparrows were circulating the disease by "spreading the organism at food sources such as grain silos, poultry facilities and street-side cafes".
Dr Harris said the outbreak of the Salmonella typhimurium DT160 infection in Tasmanian sparrows was of serious concern and a public health issue.
He said there were many ways in which the strain of salmonella bacteria could be passed on to humans.
Dr Harris said people could contract the disease by handling sick or dead sparrows, not washing thoroughly and then touching their mouths.
The salmonella outbreak also could infect poultry sheds if infected sparrows had access to them.
Infected poultry could pass the bacteria into eggs, which then could be passed on to humans through the consumption of raw eggs. Rainwater tanks also could carry the disease if infected bird droppings landed on roofs.
Dr Harris said this particular typhimurium strain of salmonella was the bacterium that caused typhoid fever in humans.
"Typhoid fever is a disease of mammals and birds caused by a variety of the bacteria Salmonella typhimurium," he said.
Dr Harris, who runs the Mayfair Veterinary Clinic in Sandy Bay, has expertise in avian medicine and zoonotic diseases, which are diseases transmitted from animals to humans.
He said other birds also could catch the salmonella bacteria by drinking contaminated water, such as water from a bird bath where infected birds had left droppings.
Dr Harris suggested people empty any backyard bird baths as a precaution against spreading or contracting the infection. He also advised people against scattering seeds in yards to attract birds.
And he said authorities at both state and federal levels needed to address the issue.
"There needs to be co-operation between the Animal Health Laboratory, the Health Department, physicians, veterinary surgeons, the Chief Veterinary Officer and both the federal and state governments and all the associated departments," Dr Harris said.
He said the next steps that needed to be taken included: * A survey of the wild bird population to determine the extent of the disease outbreak.
* Improved biosecurity in poultry sheds to ensure wild birds were kept out. * Heightened public awareness of the potential harm to human health from handling wildlife and dead birds, and from untreated water supplies.
Dr Obendorf has passed his findings on to the Australian Wildlife and Health Network, of which he is a member.
Birds Tasmania chairman Eric Woehler said there was the potential for the disease to jump from sparrows to the state's besieged native species.
"Given that some of our native species are in low numbers, the last thing we need is another disease that could hammer them," Dr Woehler said.
September 14, 2009 10:21am Make us your homepage
Human link to bird killer
ANNE MATHER
September 14, 2009 07:07am
VETS investigating a spate of sparrow deaths in Tasmania have warned the disease could spread to humans.
Laboratory testing has revealed a new strain of salmonella as the cause of mass sparrow deaths across Hobart during winter.
Investigating vets have forwarded the findings to Tasmania's health authorities and wildlife disease experts around Australia.
The strain of salmonella, called Salmonella typhimurium DT160, leads to typhoid fever in humans.
The strain of the disease is new to Tasmania but has been detected in other parts of the world and has led to outbreaks in humans in Norway and New Zealand.
Report author David Obendorf, a veterinary pathologist, investigated the sparrow deaths with the help of Sandy Bay vet James Harris and the University of Tasmania Medical School.
Dr Obendorf said there was a risk the disease could be passed on to other wildlife, domestic pets, livestock and humans.
He has forwarded his findings to Tasmania's Chief Veterinary Officer and the Director of Public Health.
"The concern is whether it's going to move into other birds or do what happened in New Zealand, for example, and lead to a spike in human infections," Dr Obendorf said.
The report says that when people caught the disease from birds in New Zealand, it resulted in "a high hospitalisation rate and there was one recorded death of an elderly man".
Dr Obendorf said sparrows tended to congregate in places where humans were present, including outdoor cafes, which could lead to infection.
"Once you detect this in wildlife, it has the spillover effect of infecting other species, including humans," he said.
"It could also affect domestic animals such as cats and dogs."
He said the "cascading effect" also could harm livestock.
In his report, Dr Obendorf wrote that in the 2001 outbreak in New Zealand, it was found that sparrows were circulating the disease by "spreading the organism at food sources such as grain silos, poultry facilities and street-side cafes".
Dr Harris said the outbreak of the Salmonella typhimurium DT160 infection in Tasmanian sparrows was of serious concern and a public health issue.
He said there were many ways in which the strain of salmonella bacteria could be passed on to humans.
Dr Harris said people could contract the disease by handling sick or dead sparrows, not washing thoroughly and then touching their mouths.
The salmonella outbreak also could infect poultry sheds if infected sparrows had access to them.
Infected poultry could pass the bacteria into eggs, which then could be passed on to humans through the consumption of raw eggs. Rainwater tanks also could carry the disease if infected bird droppings landed on roofs.
Dr Harris said this particular typhimurium strain of salmonella was the bacterium that caused typhoid fever in humans.
"Typhoid fever is a disease of mammals and birds caused by a variety of the bacteria Salmonella typhimurium," he said.
Dr Harris, who runs the Mayfair Veterinary Clinic in Sandy Bay, has expertise in avian medicine and zoonotic diseases, which are diseases transmitted from animals to humans.
He said other birds also could catch the salmonella bacteria by drinking contaminated water, such as water from a bird bath where infected birds had left droppings.
Dr Harris suggested people empty any backyard bird baths as a precaution against spreading or contracting the infection. He also advised people against scattering seeds in yards to attract birds.
And he said authorities at both state and federal levels needed to address the issue.
"There needs to be co-operation between the Animal Health Laboratory, the Health Department, physicians, veterinary surgeons, the Chief Veterinary Officer and both the federal and state governments and all the associated departments," Dr Harris said.
He said the next steps that needed to be taken included: * A survey of the wild bird population to determine the extent of the disease outbreak.
* Improved biosecurity in poultry sheds to ensure wild birds were kept out. * Heightened public awareness of the potential harm to human health from handling wildlife and dead birds, and from untreated water supplies.
Dr Obendorf has passed his findings on to the Australian Wildlife and Health Network, of which he is a member.
Birds Tasmania chairman Eric Woehler said there was the potential for the disease to jump from sparrows to the state's besieged native species.
"Given that some of our native species are in low numbers, the last thing we need is another disease that could hammer them," Dr Woehler said.