Publications

To determine if lesser snow geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens) are a potential reservoir for the Pasteurella multocida bacterium that causes avian cholera, serum samples and/or pharyngeal swabs were collected from > 3,400 adult geese breeding on Wrangel Island (Russia) and Banks Island (Canada) during 1993-1996. Pharyngeal swab sampling rarely (> 0.1%) detected birds that were...

No abstract available.

A 3 cm diameter mass from the metacarpus of a Puerto Rican Amazon parrot was diagnosed as a granular cell tumour based on light microscopy. The cytoplasmic granules were periodic-acid Schiff positive and diastase resistant. Ultrastructural characteristics of the cells included convoluted nuclei and the presence of numerous cytoplasmic tertiary lysosomes. This is only the second granular...

No abstract available.

The relationship between hematologic status and severity of tumor affliction in green turtles (Chelonia mydas) with fibropapillomatosis (FP) was examined. During 1 wk periods in July 1997 and July 1998, we bled 108 free-ranging green turtles from Pala'au (Molokai, Hawaii, USA) where FP is endemic. Blood was analyzed for hematocrit, estimated total solids, total white blood cell (WBC)...

Wild birds, especially waterfowl and shorebirds, have long been a focus for concern by the poultry industry as a source for influenza infections in poultry. Human health concerns have also been raised. For these reasons, this chapter has been included to provide natural resource managers with basic information about avian influenza viruses.

Herpesviruses other than duck plague and inclusion body disease of cranes (see Chapters 16 and 17 in this Section) have been isolated from many groups of wild birds. The diseases that these viruses cause have been described, but their comparative taxonomy and host ranges require additional study. All of these DNA viruses are classified in the family Herpesviridae, but they belong to...

Mercury has been used by humans for over 2,000 years and was associated with premature deaths of cinnabar (mercuric sulfide) miners as early as 700 B.C. More recent human poisonings have been related to agricultural and industrial uses of mercury. One of the best documented of these cases occurred in the 1950s in Minamata Bay, Japan, when mercury was discharged into the environment and...

The phylum Acanthocephala contains parasitic worms referred to as thorny-headed worms because both the larval and adult parasites have a retractable proboscis or a tubular structure at the head, which has sharp, recurved hooks or spines. Much like the cestodes or tapeworms, they lack digestive tracts and absorb nutrients from the bird’s intestinal canal. This may weaken the bird and may...

Heartworm in swans and geese is caused by a filarial nematode or a roundworm of the superfamily Filarioidea which is transmitted to the bird by a biting louse. The nematode and the louse both are parasites. Sarconema eurycerca is the only one of several species of microfilaria or the first stage juvenile of the parasite found in the circulating blood of waterfowl that is known to be...

Avian salmonellosis is caused by a group of bacteria of the genus salmonella. Approximately 2,300 different strains of salmonellae have been identified, and these are placed into groupings called “serovars” on the basis of their antigens or substances that induce immune response by the host, such as the production of specific antibody to the antigen. Current taxonomic nomenclature...

Aspergillosis is a respiratory tract infection caused by fungi of the genus Aspergillus, of which A. fumigatus is the primary species responsible for infections in wild birds (Fig. 13.1). Aspergillosis is not contagious (it will not spread from bird to bird), and it may be an acute, rapidly fatal disease or a more chronic disease. Both forms of the disease are commonly seen in free...