IUCN

ISSUES:

1. Vaccination of dogs around Serengeti - (Summary) Responses to report in Autumn 1996 issue suggest dog population control may be more effective than vaccination and that vaccination could produce an excess of dogs.

2. Badgers and TB - (Summary) Lack of data on the routes of transmission in both cattle and badgers in the United Kingdom adds to controversy over agriculture ministry's culling program.

REPORTS:

1. Wasting syndrome in moose - (Summary) Over 1400 moose in Sweden have been affected during the last decade by a complex wasting disease syndrome for which there is yet a determined etiology.

2. Avian pox and faecal salmonellosis in Imperial Eagles (Aquila adalberti) at Donana National Park, Southern Spain - (Full Text by Celia Sanchez Sanchez)

Celia Sanchez Sanchez, Donana Parque National, El Acebache, Matalascanas, Almonte, 21760 Huelva, Spain.

During 1996, only six imperial eagle chicks were born at Donana National Park. One or two health checks are usually carried out during the nesting season but because of access difficulties only one, involving five of the six chicks, was undertaken in 1996.

Four of the chicks suffered avian pox (diagnosed by histopathological examination of biopsy specimens). Three showed mild secondary bacterial infection on some of the scabs. The fourth, a male, had a large (4 cm diameter) abscess on the beak from which a Clostridium spp. was cultured. This was surgically removed and antibiotics were administered. The bird was returned to the nest and a radiotracking device fitted to it and to a female sibling.

One week later the male was considered unwell for several days (he was not observed eating or wing-exercising) but recovered spontaneously. Two months later he was removed from the wild because of flying problems - he was still in the nest. At that time faecal salmonellosis (S. enteritidis) and reactive arthritis were diagnosed. After treatment, an unsuccessful attempt at release failed, perhaps because the wing had not fully healed.

Avian pox-like lesions have been recorded for some time in imperial eagles at Donana. Local people describe the condition as "verruga" (wart). The scabs mainly affect the eyelids, beak and feet. In 1987, Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from a lesion on one bird and a human origin for the infection proposed (1). As a result of the isolation, many other samples were cultured from warts and other lesions: all yielded S. aareas. Although no pathological or virological studies were conducted, two conclusions were drawn: imperial eagles in the Donana area often had S. aureas infection of the beak and feet; there was a correlation between those infections and human contact, suggesting that infection may be transmitted to nestlings during handling and ringing (2).

In 1995 and 1996 five cases of "wart" were recorded in wild birds and two in captives. Avian pox was diagnosed in all seven. However, the Literature Cited association between man and "warts" was absent as none of the wild birds had been handled prior to lesions developing.

The reasons for the high incidence of avian pox in the eagles are unknown. The disease is often found in waterfowl on the Donana marshes. This may explain why the prevalence in eagles is low in drought years. However, pox lesions are only seen sporadically in other raptors at Donana although they also affect waterfowl. Further studies are needed to establish whether the true prevalence in imperial eagles is higher than in other raptors at this site and if so, what factors are responsible (behaviour, genetics, etc.).

In 1995, Salmonella enteritidis was isolated from an apparently healthy chick occupying the same nest as the 1996 case. Special attention will be given to this nest during 1997. The prevalence of both diseases will be studied in waterfowl and eagles.

Literature Cited
1. Leon, L. and Castroviejo, J. (1988) Sobre infecciones estafilocdcicas en el Aguila imperial iberica (Aquila adalberti). Donana Acta Vertebrata 589-95.

2. Ferrer, M. and Hiraldo, F. (1995) Human-associated Staphylococcal infection in Spanish imperial eagles. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 31 (4) 534

Comment by Jennifer Bowen-Davies (asst ed): The occurrence of foot lesions due to Staphylococcus agrees is common In captive raptors m northern Europe and is widely believed to be associated with contamination of the skin by organisms derived from handlers.

References for this article and omitted material may be obtained through Dr. Michael Woodford in conjunction with a paid subscription to the newsletter.)