Outbreak of type C botulism in captive wild birds.
In late summer 2010, an outbreak of type C botulism affected the birds kept in a dam at a southern Brazilian zoo. A total of 14(10 black-necked swans, Cygnus melancoryphus; 3 Muscovy ducks, Cairina moschata; and 1 fulvous whistling-duck, Dendrocygna bicolor) out of 100 birds died after showing flaccid paralysis of the skeletal muscles characterized by general locomotion deficit, flight and swimming disorders, dropped neck, and severe dyspnea. Carcasses of dead birds (some infested by larvae of sarcophagus fly) scattered in the bird enclosure, and oxygen-free, organically rich mud and/or shallow standing waters present at the edges of the weir were identified as possible toxin sources. Postmortem examinations revealed no significant pathological changes. Epidemiologic and clinical findings indicated the diagnosis of type C botulism toxin, which was confirmed by mouse bioassay and seroneutralization.
Departamento de Patologia Clínica, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Avenida Bento Gonçalves 9090, Agronomia 91540-000, Porto Alegre-RS, Brasil.
Djeison L
DL
Raymundo
Raquel
R
Von Hohendorf
Fabiana M
FM
Boabaid
Maria C
MC
Both
Luciana
L
Sonne
Ronnie A
RA
Assis
Rogerio P
RP
Caldas
David
D
Driemeier
D000818:Animals; D046090:Anseriformes; D001681:Biological Assay; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D001906:Botulism / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D051379:Mice