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A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: 6 Jan 2011
Source: JS Online [edited]
The mystery of the deaths of thousands of blackbirds in Arkansas this
month [January 2011] has been solved. They died of blunt-force
trauma, according to the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison.
Samples of the blackbirds -- and other blackbirds from a separate
mass die-off about the same time in Louisiana -- were brought to the
little-known laboratory on Madison's west side for necropsies.
"They died of impact force to their bodies," said Scott Wright, chief
of disease investigations at the center.
He said the birds clearly showed signs of bruises. The Arkansas Game
and Fish Commission said tests for evidence of pesticide poisoning
were negative.
At least 3000 red-winged blackbirds died on New Year's Eve near
Beebe, Arkansas. Fireworks probably sent them flying from their roost sites.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said the agency began receiving
reports of blackbirds falling from the sky about 11:30 p.m. on 31 Dec
2010 in a one-square-mile area of Beebe.
The mass kill spawned speculation that their demise was caused by a
chemical pollutant, a fear heightened by the arrival in Beebe of
workers combing neighborhoods in hazmat suits. As the story spread,
other theories ranged from biblical apocalypse to proof of the
presence of UFOs.
"It's believed that the noise startled them -- they are poor night
fliers -- and they were in close proximity to neighborhoods, and they
flew into homes and cars (and other objects)," Wright said.
A separate incident near Baton Rouge, Louisiana involving about 450
blackbirds is still under investigation by the center, Wright said.
"I think the 2 events are a coincidence," Wright said. Also
unrelated, he said, are the deaths of more than 80 000 freshwater
drum and a few yellow bass, white bass, and sauger in the Arkansas
River reported on 3 Jan 2011.
Wright said large scale deaths of birds and other species are not
uncommon. Storms, for example, wreak havoc on bird populations. Birds
are also vulnerable to chemical pollution and biological poisoning
from natural toxins.
For the blackbird species alone, there have been 16 incidents in
which 1000 or more birds have died in single events over the past 5
years, he said. The lab analyzes 300 to 500 large die-off events each
year. The deaths involve all wildlife. Deaths in 2010 were as varied
as the demise of 4500 bats from a fungal infection known as
white-nose syndrome in Bucks County, PA to the deaths of 150
raccoons, striped skunks, coyotes and red foxes in Los Angeles County.
The lab's website shows 9 separate mortality events since December
2010 alone. Eight of those events involved bird species, and one
involved the gunshot deaths of dozens of Brazilian free-tailed bats
near Pima, AZ. The National Wildlife Health Center also played a key
role in the study of chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin's
white-tailed deer population after an outbreak in February 2002.
"We don't know what we are going to get tomorrow, or the next day,
but it will be something," Wright said.
[Byline: Lee Bergquist]
--
Communicated by:
HealthMap Alerts via
ProMED-mail
[The birds reportedly "fell from the sky." Trauma would certainly be
evident. While the necropsy of the birds rules out any apparent foul
play, it does not identify the reason the birds were flying at night
and flying into objects. - Mod.TG]
[see also:
Undiagnosed die-off, avian - USA (02): (AR, LA) 20110105.0055
Undiagnosed die-off, avian - USA: (AR), RFI 20110104.0036]
....................................................sb/tg/msp/mpp
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