Hundreds of young starlings, blue jays, grackles and other birds in the eastern US are dying from a mysterious illness. It has the makings of an avian epidemic, but to fight it, scientists first have to find the cause.
So far, scientists have ruled out some of the most common culprits of bird die-offs, including Salmonella and Chlamydia. But the actual cause remains frustratingly elusive.
This mysterious illness was first reported in Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland in May but has become much more widespread in the past two months.
“In May, we started to realize that something unusual was going on. At that time, concerned volunteers started bringing in birds blinded by a white crust that sealed their eyelids. Many of the affected birds were disoriented, lethargic and unable to fly, which suggested the illness affected its victims neurologically. Most of the bird victims were young, often fledglings or a little older,” Chelsea Jones, a spokesperson for the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, Virginia, told Live Science.
“We have received 300 birds so far. But that is just counting the deceased birds; the real total is much higher,” Jones said.
Several of the deceased birds from her organization have been sent to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) for testing. Now, the DWR is working with the US Geological Survey (USGS), which has enlisted the help of several diagnostic laboratories to try to diagnose the disease.
“To date, all of the findings have either been inconsistent or inconclusive,” said Lisa Murphy, an associate professor of toxicology at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine.
So far, the scientists have ruled out Salmonella, which was responsible for an avian epidemic across the western US earlier this year, and Chlamydia, which is often carried by birds and transmitted to humans. The agency has also ruled out avian influenza, West Nile virus, herpes viruses, poxviruses and viruses that cause yellow fever.
