title: Suspected flunixin poisoning of a wild Eurasian Griffon Vulture from Spain.
abstract: Exposure to residues of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac present in livestock carcasses has caused extensive declines in 3 Gyps vulture species across Asia. The carcass of a wild Eurasian Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) was found in 2012 on an Andalucian (Spain) game hunting reserve and examined forensically. The bird had severe visceral gout, a finding consistent with Gyps vultures from Asia that have been poisoned by diclofenac. Liver and kidney samples from this Eurasian Griffon Vulture contained elevated flunixin (an NSAID) levels (median = 2.70 and 6.50 mg/kg, respectively). This is the first reported case of a wild vulture being exposed to and apparently killed by an NSAID outside Asia. It is also the first reported instance of mortality in the wild resulting from environmental exposure to an NSAID other than diclofenac.
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Water Agency of Andalusia, Division of Integrated Environmental Quality, Center for Analysis and Diagnosis of Wildlife - CAD, Avda. Lope de Vega, 9, Málaga, 29010, Spain.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zorrilla
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Taggart
authors.forename: Ngaio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Richards
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000506:poisoning*; D003002:Clonixin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000506:poisoning; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000506:poisoning*; D046093:Falconiformes; D005296:Ferrous Compounds; D009077:Mucins; D013030:Spain
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005296:Ferrous Compounds; D009077:Mucins; C014557:flunixin; C009380:ferrous sulfate, mucin drug combination; D003002:Clonixin
keywords: Old World vulture; aves carroñeras; avian scavenger; buitres del Viejo Mundo; diclofenac; diclofenaco; ecopharmacovigilance; ketoprofen; ketoprofeno; medicamentos antiinflamatorios no esteroideos; nefrotoxicidad; nephrotoxicity; nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; vigilancia farmacológica