- Another 300 birds killed in Passau county
Bird Die-off in Pocking, Landkreis Passau, continues - and authorities are still searching for the cause. "In particular, young gulls are affected, with around 300 of these young birds found over the weekend," a spokesman for the Passau District Office said on Monday.
Previously, the district office had reported, citing estimates from the Passau Landscape Conservation Association, more than 500 dead wild birds on the approximately 40-hectare affected area, including lapwings. Some of the dead animals were sent to the laboratory of the State Office for Health and Food Safety for examination.
No avian flu
New autopsy results from a duck, a blue tit, and four gulls from the State Office for Health and Food Safety confirmed that avian flu was not the cause, the spokesman explained.
Further results - bacteriological and histological - are still pending. Therefore, there is still no confirmed cause for the bird die-off. It takes a certain amount of time to set up corresponding bacterial cultures, it was said.
Birds with diarrhea
Last week, a high-grade salmonella infection was found in one animal. Salmonellosis can cause diarrhea, dehydration, lethargy, movement disorders, and even death in wild birds within hours, it was said.
Observations showed that many animals gathered along the shorelines of the constructed ponds before dying. They are filled with groundwater and rainwater. The birds showed symptoms such as lethargy, movement disorders, and in some cases, balance disorders.
These symptoms do not allow for a clear diagnosis, according to experts. The examination of dead birds from the previous week showed evidence of a diarrheal disease in five out of six animals, but no specific indications of the cause of the disease or death.
According to the statements, the bird die-off is slowly decreasing. The peak has probably been passed, and the numbers are gradually decreasing, the spokesman for the district office explained.
The bird die-off incident is taking place in the area surrounding Pocking, which is situated within the county of Passau. Authorities are considering the possibility that contaminated water in the constructed ponds near Passau might be contributing to the birds' illnesses.
Despite the gradual decrease in the number of dead birds being reported, further investigations into the bacteriological and histological causes of the die-off are ongoing in the county of Passau.
