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MAR-22-2001 10:59 ~~ .- ~.. .'. ... ...:.. .' 'fir !IlL ~ ~- ~1..~' ~ ~ MIDWEST LS & CE 763 712 9055 P.02/03 .' . HBN News! 1') ~': ;.... ,), r:':f., " f t' :.... , - '.' j" ~>., . .\ ..',' . ~ . . MIIM More Than a Million Birds Die in The Worst Outbreak of Avian Botulism in Decades DU News Release Memphis, October 7~-The summer of 1997 saw some of the worst outbreaks of avian botulism in decades. More than a million birds have died in scattered locations in Canada and the U.S., according to officials at Ducks Unlimited, the world's largest private wetlands and waterfowl conservation organization. The worst incident was at Saskatchewan's sprawling Old Wives Lake, where as many as 1 million birds are estimated to have died. Between 250,000 and 500,000 birds died at Utah's Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge--the worst known outbreak of the disease in Utah history. Other major losses include: 60,000 to 80,000 birds in Manitoba's Whitewater Lake, 60,000 to 80,000 at Alberta's Pakowki Lake, and several thousands at sites in North and South Dakota. Avian botulism is a fatal disease caused by a bacterial toxin. The disease can affect a variety of species but it is usually found in waterfowl (ducks, geese:, swans) and shorebirds. At the Old Wives site, approximately 85 percent of the stricken birds were ducks--the rest were mostly grebes and shorebirds. In Utah, about 80 percent of the dead birds ere pintail drakes. Birds affected by the disease become paralyzed. A bird suffering from avian botulism is unable to fly and hold its head up, and most eventually drown or die fTom respiratory failure. Researchers are not sure what enviromnental trigger cause the toxin to be released, but high temperatures and fluctuating water levels are probably factors. A viao botulism is no threat to humans. Proper cooking destroys the toxin. "We're not sure why 1997 was such a bad year for botulism," says Mickey Heitmeyer, director ofDU's Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research. "There are outbreaks of avian botulism every year, and DU is very actively conducting research in both Canada and the U.S. to find out why some years are so much worse than others. So far we have eliminated several hypotheses. Our next step will involve using DNA typing to detennine exactly when the bacteria and an associated virus are actually causing the toxin to be produced. We hope our findings will help us prevent and control such large outbreaks in the future," http://www.hbnonJine.com 3/20101