BOTULISM, FISH, AVIAN - CANADA
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Date: 21 Oct 2011
Source: Cottage Country Now [edited]
<http://www.cottagecountrynow.ca/news/local/article/1230096--botulism-suspected-in-fish-and-waterfowl-deaths>
The Ministry of Natural Resources thinks botulism is behind fish and waterfowl deaths in south eastern Georgian Bay.
Reports to the ministry about fish and waterfowl washing up on shore started in August 2011 and now stretch from the Parry Sound area to Collingwood. The ministry sent samples from both a sturgeon, representing fish, and a grebe to test birds to determine whether botulism is the cause.
"[The organism that causes] botulism is a naturally occurring bacteria that becomes active; it creates the botulism toxin in a dead animal, so we could expect to find botulism in a dead animal. In order to find out if it is botulism that killed the animal, we have to find a meridian animal, so in other words, an animal that's barely alive,"
said Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) Fish and Wildlife Services spokesperson John Cooper. [Surely the intended term is moribund animal, which is an animal in the process of dying. - Mod.TG]
The number of dead fish and waterfowl reported this year [2011] is higher than last year and continues a series of short-lived outbreaks in the Great Lakes since 1998, said Cooper.
"Normally, we wouldn't see too many at all, and last year [2010], we received some evidence of birds and fish. An example would be the lake sturgeon, which is a fish that isn't usually seen. Last year, we were looking at 20/30 of those fish; this year we're looking at 120 (at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park)," said Cooper.
In that same area, there have been findings of dead channel catfish, lake whitefish and other fish. Throughout the affected region, more than 300 gulls, mallards, loons, grebes, cormorants, and Canada geese have also been found dead.
In the Parry Sound area alone, MNR conservation officers and police officers reported some dead whitefish and lake trout, plus 2 loons, 2 mallards, and a merganser in the Limestone Island area.
It is speculated that "zebra and quagga mussel beds could create habitat for the bacterium that causes botulism," according to a ministry release. "Bottom feeding fish could then have contact with it and pass it up the food chain."
Recent outbreaks of botulism that led to the deaths of fish and waterfowl are linked to invasive species such as gobies. "We see these invasive species moving in, and often they increase in numbers quickly, and that seems to be a factor," said Cooper. "Native fish and birds have never seen a goby before and eat it. We have some birds, such as gulls that scavenge on dead and dying things that wash up on the shoreline." In birds, he said, it's not the toxin that kills them directly, but they drown while paralyzed from it.
Risk to humans is minimal, according to the ministry. "If you catch a fish or bird out of Georgian Bay, and you don't know whether it has the toxin in it, as long as you cook what you are eating, there's no risk in getting it, and the toxin, as well, concentrates in the stomach/digestion tract of fish or birds," he said.
The outbreak is expected to run its course in this region within 3 years. Test results are expected back to the ministry in about a week.
Property owners are responsible for the cleanup of any fish or waterfowl found along their shoreline, according to the ministry. It advises people to wear gloves while handling the carcasses and either bury them or put them in the garbage.
Any carcasses found on beaches should be bagged to stop the spread of the disease through maggots, according to the ministry.
[byline: Sarah Bissonette]
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[In all probability, these are all separate outbreaks that are occurring close together, and a critical analysis of the data may indicate such. It is highly unlikely that outbreaks would occur during the winter months, as most situations allowing the causative organism _Clostridium botulinium_ to proliferate occur when the weather is warmer.
For a more detailed look at the botulism situation, readers are referred to the moderator's comment in ProMED-mail post 20111009.3031 below. - Mod.TG]
[see also:
Botulism, avian - USA (04): (NV) 20111009.3031 Botulism - Canada (02): (BC) alert, expanded recall 20110317.0846 Botulism - Canada: (BC) watermelon jelly, alert, recall 20110310.0776 2010
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Botulism - Canada: (BC) pepperoni, risk, recall 20100730.2557 2000
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Bird die-off, botulism? - Canada (Newfoundland) 20000419.0570
1997
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Botulism - Canada and Alaska? 19971003.2082 Botulism - Canada (02) 19970926.2019 Botulism - Canada 19970921.1985] .................................................sb/tg/msp/sh/ll
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