Avian cholera and organochlorine residues in an American oystercatcher

Pasteurella multocida, the causative bacterium of avian cholera, was isolated from cultures of the liver and heart blood of a female, adult American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) found dead on the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina, in May 1973. This is apparently the first record of avian cholera in the oystercatcher. Low levels of DDE were identified in tissues of the oystercatcher.