Avian Cholera - Nov. 5 DWR News Release

["Utah Birds" <utahbirds at excite dot com>]

[Here's a news release from the DWR with information about the avian cholera outbreat]

About 30,000 eared grebes have died at the Great Salt Lake recently.

Please see the pasted and attached Nov. 5 DWR news release for details.
Frank Howe is available for interviews this afternoon.

Contact: Frank Howe
244-4329 (cell phone)
(801) 538-4764 (office)

Eared Grebes Dying at Great Salt Lake from Avian Cholera

Salt Lake City -- An outbreak of avian cholera has killed about 30,000
eared grebes on the Great Salt Lake.

Eared grebes are small diving birds. Each fall, about 1.5 million
eared grebes congregate on the Great Salt Lake as they migrate south.
The lake is a critical fueling stop for the birds. Every year, the
Great Salt Lake provides the 1.5 million grebes with enough food that
they're able to double their weight on route to the southwestern states
and Mexico.

Division of Wildlife Resource biologists say these outbreaks are not
uncommon and there is little risk to human health. "Several avian
cholera outbreaks have occurred over the past few years," said Frank
Howe, nongame avian coordinator for the DWR. "This year's outbreak is
one of the biggest we've seen in six years, however."

Previous avian cholera outbreaks occurred at the Great Salt Lake in
1994, 1995, 1998 and 2002. While the bacterium that causes avian
cholera is not a significant human health threat, under certain
conditions it may infect other bird species.

"We're keeping a close eye on the situation," Howe said. "As long as
dead grebes remain in the middle of the lake, which is where they
currently are, they pose only a minor threat to other bird populations.
If we get a strong north wind that drives the dead grebes near
freshwater sources along the south shore, however, the risk of ducks and
even bald eagles being exposed to cholera increases greatly. If that
happens, we may need to mobilize a major clean-up effort, like we did in
1998."

Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health
Center have assisted the DWR in the investigation and are working with
Utah biologists to monitor the situation.

Avian Cholera Facts

Avian cholera is one of the most common diseases among wild North
American waterfowl. Once birds are infected with Pasteurella multicoda,
they die quickly, sometimes within six to 12 hours after infection.
Live bacteria released into the environment by dead and dying birds can
subsequently infect healthy birds. As a result, avian cholera can
spread quickly through a wetland and kill thousands of birds in a single
outbreak.

Avian cholera outbreaks occur primarily in winter and early spring.
During these times, waterfowl are usually in dense groups on wintering
or staging areas and may be experiencing stress due to crowding and
severe weather. These conditions may serve to initiate an outbreak and
facilitate transmission of the disease.

Over the past 10 to 15 years, avian cholera has recurred almost
annually in several areas: southern Saskatchewan, California's Central
Valley and Klamath Basin, the Texas panhandle and rice belt, the
Rainwater Basin of Nebraska, and in the Mississippi and Missouri River
drainages.

For more information on avian cholera, go to
http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/research/avian_cholera/avian_cholera.html.

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