Avian Cholera Causes Marine Bird Mortality in the Bering Sea of Alaska

Barbara Bodenstein; Kimberlee Beckmen; Gay Sheffield; Kathy Kuletz; Caroline Van Hemert; Brenda Berlowski; Valerie Shearn-Bochsler

doi:10.7589/2014-12-273

Avian Cholera Causes Marine Bird Mortality in the Bering Sea of Alaska

J Wildl Dis. 2015 Oct;51(4):934-7. doi: 10.7589/2014-12-273. Epub 2015 Aug 7.

Authors

Barbara Bodenstein¹, Kimberlee Beckmen², Gay Sheffield³, Kathy Kuletz⁴, Caroline Van Hemert⁵, Brenda Berlowski¹, Valerie Shearn-Bochsler¹

Affiliations

¹ 1 US Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Rd., Madison, Wisconsin 53711, USA.
² 2 Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation, 1300 College Road, Fairbanks, Alaska 99701, USA.
³ 3 University of Alaska Fairbanks, Marine Advisory Program, Pouch 400, Nome, Alaska 99762, USA.
⁴ 4 US Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management, 1011 E Tudor Rd., Anchorage, Alaska 99503, USA.
⁵ 5 US Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 4210 University Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99508, USA.

PMID: 26251989
DOI: 10.7589/2014-12-273

Abstract

The first known avian cholera outbreak among wild birds in Alaska occurred during November 2013. Liver, intestinal, and splenic necrosis consistent with avian cholera was noted, and Pasteurella multocida serotype 1 was isolated from liver and lung or spleen in Crested Auklets (Aethia cristatella), Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia), Common Eider (Somateria mollissima), Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis), and gulls (Larus spp.).

Publication types

Letter

MeSH terms

Alaska / epidemiology
Animals
Bird Diseases / epidemiology
Bird Diseases / microbiology*
Bird Diseases / mortality
Birds
Disease Outbreaks / veterinary
Female
Male
Oceans and Seas / epidemiology
Pasteurella Infections / epidemiology
Pasteurella Infections / mortality
Pasteurella Infections / veterinary*
Pasteurella multocida*