Avian Cholera

Avian Cholera Causes Marine Bird Mortality in the Bering Sea of Alaska

“…Christensen et al (1997) reported mortality of Common Eiders at wintering areas within the sea ice in Denmark due to avian cholera in 1996. The disease was reported in Common Murre (Uria aalge) in the Baltic Sea (Samuel et al 2007).…”

“…Avian cholera, caused by the highly contagious bacterium Pasteurella multocida, rapidly causes death in wild birds, particularly in waterfowl (Samuel et al 2007). The disease has been reported in .180 bird species (Samuel et al 2007).…”

“…The disease has been reported in .180 bird species (Samuel et al 2007). Transmission can occur by bird-to-bird contact, aerosolized bacteria, and ingestion of bacteria in contaminated environments.…”

“…Outbreaks involving wild birds occur annually in North America, and evidence suggests that the disease tends to follow the migration routes of some birds, most notably Lesser Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens; Samuel et al 2005b). Outbreaks are explosive and can kill thousands of birds in a short time (Samuel et al 2007).…”

“…Routine aerobic bacterial isolation was performed on the indicated tissues (Table 1) by using tryptic soy agar with 5% sheep blood (BD Diagnostics, Sparks, Maryland, USA) incubated for 18-24 h at 37 C, and bacterial isolates were identified by using biochemical test (API strips, BioMé rieux, Marcy l'Etiole, France). Pasteurella multocida was isolated in liver from three Crested Auklets, three Thick-billed Murres, two Northern Fulmars, one Common Eider, and one gull by using the agrose gel precipitin test (Heddleston et al 1972) and characterized as serotype 1, the most common serotype found in wild birds (Samuel et al 2007). The bacterium was detected in liver from one gull by next-generation sequencing.…”