Wild bird mortality caused by botulism in Britain, 1975

Mortality incident in northern bald ibis Geronticus eremita in Morocco in May 1996

“…Very little is known of specific disease susceptibilities of the bald ibis but among the infections that are known to cause mortality incidents in some avian taxa are a range of virus diseases ( Ritchie & Carter, 1996) including, for example, Newcastle (a paramyxovirus) disease ( Alexander, 1991) and avian influenza ( Becker, 1966); bacterial diseases such as salmonellosis and pasteurellosis ( Friend, 1987); chlamydiosis ( Franson & Pearson, 1995); and a variety of parasitic infestations, for example of acanthocephala in waterfowl ( Rayski & Garden, 1961). Among toxic diseases that have caused avian mortality incidents are botulism ( Lloyd et al , 1976 ; Locke & Friend, 1987; Wobeser, 1997), accidental or deliberate poisonings with a variety of types of pesticides (e.g. Augsperger et al , 1996 ; Fletcher et al ., 1996 ) or other environmental pollutants (e.g.…”

The relevance of Clostridium botulinum type C in public health and food processing

“…In the summer of 1975 at least 4000 birds were known to have died from botulism in eighteen different outbreaks (Lloyd et al, 1976) and small outbreaks are now confirmed each summer.…”

Changes in the gull populations of SW Wales

“…In 1975MacDonald & Standring (1978 observed birds showing symptoms of botulism and connected this with feeding at tips. In SW Wales there is intense feeding on the rubbish tips during the breeding season, particularly during the delivery of refuse and before it is spread and covered.…”

“…Harris 1965Harris , 1970Davis 1974;Parslow 1967). More recently, declines in the Bristol Channel area have been described (Ferns & Mudge 1982a) and there is some evidence that the increasing incidence of poisoning by botulism (Lloyd et al 1976;MacDonald & Standring 1978;Smith 1976) has had a major influence on the numbers of gulls and their breeding success.…”