Author Institution: Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, Maryland 20810, and Department of Veterinary Science (J. A. N.), University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742Avian cholera (Pasteurella multocida) infection was diagnosed in an adult male bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) collected in Ohio. Brain levels of organochlorine pesticides were found to be well below the reported lethal levels; the brain contained 10.7 ppm p,p'-DDE, 0.4 ppm p,p'-DDD, 1.2 ppm dieldrin, 1.1 ppm heptachlor epoxide, and 40.0 ppm polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)

Locke, L. N.

Mulhern, B. M.

Newman, J. A.

The Ohio Journal of Science

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AVIAN CHOLERA IN A BALD EAGLE FROM OHIO12L. N. LOCKE, J. A. NEWMAN, AND B. M. MULHERNPatuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, Maryland 20810, and Department of VeterinaryScience {J. A. N.), University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 207^2ABSTRACTAvian cholera {Pasteurella multocida) infection was diagnosed in an adult male baldeagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) collected in Ohio. Brain levels of organochlorine pesti-cides were found to be well below the reported lethal levels; the brain contained 10.7 ppmp,p'-DDE, 0.4 ppm p,p'-DDD, 1.2 ppm dieldrin, 1.1 ppm heptachlor epoxide, and 40.0 ppmpolychlorinated biphenyls (PCB).Avian cholera {Pasteurella multocida) has been recognized as a cause of lossesamong wild waterfowl in California (Rosen and Bischoff, 1949; Rosen, 1971)and Texas (Quortrup et al., 1946) since 1944. More recently the disease has beenreported among waterfowl in both the Mississippi (Vaught et al., 1967) and AtlanticFlyways (Gershman et al., 1964; Klukas and Locke, 1970; Locke et al., 1970).Carcasses of ducks that have died of avian cholera frequently are scavenged bygulls and other predators with subsequent transmission of the disease to thescavengers (Rosen, 1971). Bald eagles were recently reported to have con-tracted avian cholera in this manner in northern California (Rosen, 1972).This paper reports a case of avian cholera in a bald eagle {Haliaeetus leuco-cephalus) from Ohio, which was submitted to the Patuxent Wildlife ResearchCenter's laboratory in conjunction with a pesticide monitoring program (Dustmanet al., 1971). Of 180 bald eagles that have been autopsied at the Patuxent Wild-life Research Center since I960, only three appeared to have been infected withavian cholera. Unfortunately, a complete bacteriological study was not done onthe first two of these three. These were an adult female found dead in OtoeCounty, Nebraska, in February, 1965, and an adult female found in Missouri in1967. The Ohio case reported here is apparently the first bacteriologically provencase of avian cholera in a bald eagle in the Midwest. The eagle, an adult male,was found in a sickened condition some 200 yards from a well-established eaglenest near Sandusky, Ohio, June 1969 by Mr. Thomas M. Stockdale. The eaglewas taken indoors, but died before any treatment could be initiated. The carcasswas frozen and subsequently shipped to our laboratory for autopsy and chemicalanalysis.The eagle weighed 3.18 k (7 lbs.) and the breast muscles were reduced in size;the sternal keel was prominent and only small amounts of subcutaneous andabdominal fat were present. There was hemorrhage in the posterior portions ofboth lungs; ecchymotic hemorrhages were present in the liver, which weighed96.5 gms. The spleen was enlarged, the cross section measuring 3.0 x 2.5 cms.There was serosanguinous fluid in the pericardial sac, and scattered whitishnecrotic foci were present in the myocardium. The kidneys were mottled withpetechiae. The stomach was empty except for some unidentified fragments ofgreen plant. There was an old, partially healed, penetration-type wound in thetip of the sternum.Material from the liver and blood from the heart were streaked onto 5%sheep-blood agar plates. After 24 hours of incubation at 37°C, dewdrop-like,non-hemolytic colonies of a gram-negative cocco-bacillus appeared on both plates.On the liver plate, a second bacterium, a non-hemolytic streptococcus, was alsoisolated. This streptococcus was regarded as an agonal invader.paper is Scientific Article No. A-1717, Contribution No. 4483 of the Maryland Agri-cultural Experiment Station, Department of Veterinary Science, College Park, Maryland.2Manuscript received August 22, 1971.THE OHIO JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 72(5): 294, September 1972.No. 5 AVIAN CHOLERA IN OHIO EAGLE 295The gram-negative bacterium was found to be a cocco-bacillus, which in manycases appeared to form short chains. The organism produced acid but no gasin dextrose, mannitol, sucrose, fructose, sorbitol, galactose, mannose, and xylose.No acid was produced in lactose, maltose, arabinose, salicin, or erythritol. Theisolate was indole-positive, produced no change in litmus milk, and formed nitritesfrom nitrates. On the basis of these morphologic and biochemical characteristics,the bacterium was identified tentatively as Pasteurella multocida. A culture ofthis isolate was submitted to the National Animal Disease Laboratory, Ames,Iowa, where its identity as Pasteurella multocida was confirmed.Upon the completion of the necropsy, the carcass remainders (carcass exceptfor skin, feet, wings, liver, and gastrointestinal tract) and the brain were analyzedfor organochlorine pesticide residues according to Mulhern et al., 1970. Analysisfor poly chlorinated biphenyls (PCB) was by thin-layer chromatography as de-scribed by Mulhern et al., 1971. Mercury analysis was for total mercury byatomic absorption spectrophotometry. In this procedure, the sample is digestedby refiuxing with sulfuric and nitric acid, and is oxidized with hydrogen peroxide.Hydroxylamine hydrochloride and stannous chloride are added to the digest toreduce the mercury (II) ions to mercury metal. The sample is aerated, and themercury measured in the air stream passing through a gas cell. The results ofthis chemical analysis, which are summarized in Table 1, show that all valuesare well below the lethal levels which have been reported in the literature (Stickelet al., 1969; Stickel et al., 1970).TABLE 1Chemical analysis results on bald eagle with avian choleraCarcass12.44.80.23.30.30.8160.01.8Brain10.70.41.21.10.440.0N.D.*Parts per million,Chemical wet weightp,p'-DDEp,p'-DDDp,p'-DDTDieldrinHeptachlor EpoxideDichlorobenzophenonePoly chlorinated BiphenylsMercury*N.D.=not determined.Bald eagles in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys feed to a largeextent on sick or hunter-crippled waterfowl. If extensive outbreaks of aviancholera, such as have been reported in California and more recently on theChesakepake Bay, occurred in the Mississippi and Ohio areas, the disease couldpose a serious threat to the bald eagles there. To date there have been no reportedoutbreaks of avian cholera among waterfowl in Ohio; however the disease hasbeen reported in waterfowl in Missouri and Tennessee, and recently Locke andBanks (1972) reported an outbreak which occurred among cedar waxwings atSteubenville, Ohio, during June 1968. There is no evidence to suggest that thisbald eagle case is related to this localized outbreak among cedar waxwings. Thesource of this eagle infection is unknown.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSWe wish to express thanks to Mr. Clyde Bolin, Oak Harbor, Ohio, for submit-ting this eagle for our examination, to Mr. Larry Young for preparing the tissuesfor histological examination, and to Mr. Thair Lamont for conducting the mercuryanalysis.296 L. N. LOCKE, J. A. NEWMAN, AND B. M. MULHERN Vol. 72LITERATURE CITEDDustman, E. H., W. E. Martin, R. G. Heath, and W. L. Reichel. 1971. Monitoring Pesticidesin Wildlife. Pesticides Monitoring J. 5(1): 50-52.Gershman, M., J. F. Witter, H. E. Spencer, Jr., and A. Kalvaitis. 1964. Case Report; Epizooticof Fowl Cholera in the Common Eider Duck. J. Wildlife Man. 28(3): 587-589.Klukas, R. W., and L. N. Locke. 1970. An Outbreak of Fowl Cholera in Everglades NationalPark. J. Wildlife Diseases 6(1): 77-79.Locke, L. N., and R. C. Banks. 1972. Avian Cholera in Cedar Waxwings in Ohio. J. WildlifeDiseases 8(1): 106.Locke, L. N., V. Stotts, and G. Wolfhardt. 1970. An Outbreak of Fowl Chloera in Waterfowlon the Chesapeake Bay. J. Wildlife Diseases 6(4): 404-407.Mulhern, B. M., E. Cromartie, W. L. Reichel, and A. A. Belisle. 1971. SemiquantitativeDetermination of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Tissue Samples by Thin Layer Chroma-tography. J. Assoc. Offic. Agr. Chem. 54(3): 548-550.Mulhern, B. M., W. L. Reichel, L. N. Locke, T. G. Lamont, A. Belisle, E. Cromartie, G. E. Bagley,and R. M. Prouty. 1970. Organochlorine Residues and Autopsy Data From Bald Eagles,1966-68. Pesticides Monitoring J. 4(3): 141-144.Quortrup, E. R., F. B. Queen, and L. Mervoka. 1946. An Outbreak of Pasteurellosis in WildDucks. J. Amer. Vet. Med. Assoc. 108(2): 94-100.Rosen, M. N. 1971. Avian Cholera, p. 59-74 (Chap. 8) in Davis, John W., R. C. Anderson,L. Karstad, and D. O. Trainer, Eds. Infectious and Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds.Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa. 344 p.Rosen, M. N., and A. Bischoff. 1949. The 1948-49 Outbreak of Fowl Cholera in Birds in theSan Francisco Area and Surrounding Counties. Calif. Fish and Game 35(3): 185-192.Rosen, M. N. 1972. The 1970-71 Avian Cholera Epornitics Impact on Certain Species. J.Wildlife Diseases 8(1): 75-78.Stickel, L. F., and W. H. Stickel. 1970. Distribution of DDT Residues in Tissues of Birds inRelation to Mortality, Body Condition, and Time. p. 57-65 in Deichmann, W. B., Ed.Pesticides Symposia. Halos and Assoc, Miami, Florida. 315 p.Stickel, W. H., L. F. Stickel, and J. Spann. 1969. Tissue Residues of Dieldrin in Relation toMorality in Birds and Mammals, p. 174-204 (Chap. 8) in Miller, M. W., and G. G. Berg,Eds Chemical Fallout—Current Research on Persistent Pesticides. Charles C. Thomas,pub., Springfield, Illinois. 531 p.Vaught, R. W., H. C. McDougle, and H. H. Burgess. 1967. Fowl Cholera in Waterfowl atSquaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Missouri. J. Wildlife Man. 31(2): 248-253.

Avian Cholera in a Bald Eagle from Ohio

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Avian Cholera in a Bald Eagle from Ohio

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