> To Pablo Nart
From: Michael Gochfeld
It would be useful to have a better identification of the birds involved in the die-off.
Even without knowing the exact species, none of these are migrants from North America.
Eared Doves (of the Pigeon family) can migrate long distances, mainly in response to droughts,
"Fieldfares" presumably refers to a kind of thrush (the Fieldfare itself is a European species).
If the deaths were all among grain-eating birds (pigeons, cardinals), then a pesticide poisoning with an
organophosphate would be the first suspect.
If a lot of thrushes were involves that complicates the diagnosis.
West Nile certainly has spread quickly westward across North America, and it is reasonable to expect it to arrive in
South America with migrant birds, but not the species mentioned.
The main long-distance migrants to southern South America are terns and shorebirds/waders/sandpipers, Broad-winged
Hawks, and swallows. A few other species make the long flight.
Michael Gochfeld, MD, PhD
Professor of Environmental and Community Medicine
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Piscataway, NJ 08854
>
> Date:10 Jan 2003
> From: Pablo Nart <p.nart@virgin.net>
> Source: Telam 9 Jan 2003 [in Spanish, translated & edited by Mod.JW]
> <http://www.telam.com.ar/central_sin13720030109.htm>
>
> Approximately 100 birds have died [suddenly] in the last few days in
> the streets of Bartolome Bavio, part of Magdalena, Buenos Aires
> [Province], including pigeons, thrushes, cardinals,and fieldfares.
> It is suspected that they died from eating pesticide-contaminated
> food.
>
> [ProMED-mail moderator's comments: Rodenticide is often spread on
> corn, and pigeons will eat the bait,while
> insectivorous birds may eat insects dying from insecticide poisoning.
> But in these days when we are on the lookout for the arrival of West
> Nile virus in South America, it would be important to exclude that
> diagnosis. Perhaps an XX-Mozilla-Status: 0009n tell us whether any
> of the species mentioned are likely to be recently arrived migrants
> from North America. We would like to receive more details of this
> outbreak. - Mod.JW]
>
> -
Received on Fri Jan 17 09:53:04 2003
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