Over a 7-day period beginning 8 August 2011, a large number of wild birds of several species were found dead or with neurologic clinical signs along the shore of Crostolo stream, in the Emilia Romagna region, Italy. Twenty-eight Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), two Hooded Crows (Corvus corone cornix), and three coypus (Myocastor coypus) were found moribund on the Crostolo stream bank, collected, and sent to Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, Reggio Emilia Section. The cause of mortality was determined to be Clostridium botulinum type C toxin. The toxin was identified by a mouse bioassay for botulinum toxins and confirmed in bird sera and blowfly larvae (Lucilia caesar) collected from the stomachs of birds.
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1 October 2013
Outbreak of Type C Botulism in Birds and Mammals in the Emilia Romagna Region, Northern Italy
Francesco Defilippo,
Andrea Luppi,
Giulia Maioli,
Dario Marzi,
Maria Cristina Fontana,
Federica Paoli,
Paolo Bonilauri,
Michele Dottori,
Giuseppe Merialdi
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Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Vol. 49 • No. 4
October 2013
Vol. 49 • No. 4
October 2013
maggot mass
toxins
type C botulism
wild birds