An Adenovirus Associated With Intestinal Impaction and Mortality of Male Common Eiders (Somateria Mollissima) in the Baltic Sea

Abstract

We examined 10 common eider (Somateria mollissima) males found dead in 1998 during a die-off in the northern Baltic Sea off the southwestern coast of Finland. We diagnosed impaction of the posterior small intestine with mucosal necrosis as the cause of death in all 10 and isolated adenoviruses from cloacal samples of six birds. The adenovirus isolates were not neutralized by reference antisera to group I, II, or III avian adenoviruses. Cloacal swabs from 22 apparently healthy eider females nesting at the mortality area were negative for viruses. An adenovirus isolated from one of the eiders caused clinical signs of illness and gastrointestinal pathology in experimentally infected mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) ducklings. These findings suggest that the adenovirus contributed to the mortality of common eider males in the Finnish archipelago.

Impacts of trichomonosis epidemics on Greenfinch Chloris chloris and Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs populations in Finland

“…In Finland, a mortality event in Common Eiders Somateria mollissima in the Baltic Sea was attributed at least partly to adenovirus infection (Hollmén et al . ). Epidemics have been much more rarely documented in terrestrial bird species (Dhondt et al .…”

A Blood Survey of Elements, Viral Antibodies, and Hemoparasites in Wintering Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus Histrionicus) and Barrow's Goldeneyes (Bucephala Islandica)

“…Continued exposure was found to be affecting population dynamics of Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus, hereafter HARD) as many as 9 yr after the spill (Esler et al, 2002). In addition to contaminants, several viruses have been associated with duck die-offs in the Arctic including adenovirus in Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis) in northern Alaska, and adenovirus and reovirus in Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima) in Finland (Hollmé n et al, 2002(Hollmé n et al, , 2003a.…”

“…Plasma samples were assayed for adenovirus antibody with a microneutralization test (Thayer and Beard, 1998) using a strain of adenovirus (NWHC case no. 4672-9605) isolated from Long-tailed Ducks in Alaska (Hollmé n et al, 2003a). Reovirus antibody titers were assayed using the same microneutralization test (Thayer and Beard, 1998), except an Eider Duck isolate (NWHC case no.…”

“…Selection of pathogen antibodies to assay was based on published reports of viral diseases in arctic marine ducks (Wobeser, 1997;Hollmé n et al, 2002Hollmé n et al, , 2003a. The absence of detectable antibodies against paramyxovirus 1, reovirus, and adenovirus is most likely due to absence of exposure.…”

Quantifying the demographic and population impact of avian cholera on northern common eiders in the face of ancillary threats and changing environmental circumstances

“…Finally, infectious disease is recognized as important mortality factor in common eiders (Friend et al 2001). In addition to avian cholera, mass mortality events have been associated with outbreaks of Wellfleet Bay virus among common eiders nesting on the Atlantic coast of the United States (Allison et al 2015) and avian adenovirus on the Baltic Sea coast of Finland (Hollmén et al 2003). While mass mortality events associated with avian cholera have been reported on numerous occasions, few studies have investigated their demographic impact.…”