title: Avian botulism--another perspective.
abstract: Waterfowl botulism is unique among intoxications because toxin produced within its victims leads to secondary poisoning of other birds. Because of this phenomenon, the epizootiology of the carcass-maggot cycle of botulism resembles that of an infectious disease and the reproductive rate (R) of the disease could be defined as the average number of secondary intoxications attributable to a single carcass introduced into a marsh. I propose that toxin production and botulism occur commonly at a low level in many marshes and that factors which influence R determine when the disease expands into a large epizootic. A model that incorporates the number of carcasses occurring in a marsh, the probability of a carcass containing spores, the probability of a carcass persisting until toxin-bearing maggots emerge, and the contact rate between live birds and toxin, may be useful for predicting the extent of secondary poisoning, for identifying questions for research, and as a theoretical basis for management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Pathology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wobeser
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D001717:Birds; D001905:Botulinum Toxins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D001906:Botulism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003014:Clostridium botulinum / Q000378:metabolism; D004175:Diptera / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D007814:Larva / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D001905:Botulinum Toxins