title: Diclofenac poisoning is widespread in declining vulture populations across the Indian subcontinent.
abstract: Recent declines in the populations of three species of vultures in the Indian subcontinent are among the most rapid ever recorded in any bird species. Evidence from a previous study of one of these species, Gyps bengalensis, in the Punjab province of Pakistan, strongly implicates mortality caused by ingestion of residues of the veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac as the major cause of the decline. We show that a high proportion of Gyps bengalensis and G. indicus found dead or dying in a much larger area of India and Nepal also have residues of diclofenac and visceral gout, a post-mortem finding that is strongly associated with diclofenac contamination in both species. Hence, veterinary use of diclofenac is likely to have been the major cause of the rapid vulture population declines across the subcontinent.
authors.affiliation: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy SG19 2DL, UK.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shultz
authors.forename: Hem Sagar
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Baral
authors.forename: Sheonaidh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Charman
authors.forename: Andrew A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.forename: Devojit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Ghalsasi
authors.forename: Mallikarjun S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Goudar
authors.forename: Rhys E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Ainsley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Prashant
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nighot
authors.forename: Deborah J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Pain
authors.forename: Vibhu
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Prakash
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D004008:Diclofenac / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D046093:Falconiformes; D006073:Gout / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D011041:Poisoning / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D011157:Population Dynamics
chemical_list: D004008:Diclofenac