Botulism in waterfowl: case report in Argentina
Introduction: Botulism, a severe neuroparalytic disease caused by the botulinum toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum, poses significant threats to wild birds. This study describes a natural outbreak of type C botulism in waterfowl in the surroundings of a lagoon in Saavedra, Buenos Aires province...
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| Formato: | Artículo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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Springer
2025
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| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/23567 https://actavetscand.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13028-025-00824-7 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13028-025-00824-7 |
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| author | Ovelar, María Florencia Canton, German Jose García, Jorge Pablo Riccio, María Belén Rodríguez, Alicia Raquel Farace, María Isabel Alvarez, Ignacio |
| author_browse | Alvarez, Ignacio Canton, German Jose Farace, María Isabel García, Jorge Pablo Ovelar, María Florencia Riccio, María Belén Rodríguez, Alicia Raquel |
| author_facet | Ovelar, María Florencia Canton, German Jose García, Jorge Pablo Riccio, María Belén Rodríguez, Alicia Raquel Farace, María Isabel Alvarez, Ignacio |
| author_sort | Ovelar, María Florencia |
| collection | INTA Digital |
| description | Introduction: Botulism, a severe neuroparalytic disease caused by the botulinum toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum, poses significant threats to wild birds. This study describes a natural outbreak of type C botulism in waterfowl in the surroundings of a lagoon in Saavedra, Buenos Aires province, Argentina, during January 2021. The outbreak, affecting approximately 300 birds, was attributed to environmental conditions that allowed the proliferation of C. botulinum. Clinical signs included progressive weakness, paresis, flaccid paralysis, difficulties in locomotion and swimming, “limbing neck”, and nictitating membrane protrusion. No gross lesions were observed during autopsies, but mild congestion, hemorrhage, and pulmonary edema were noted microscopically. Toxin type C was detected in feces, serum samples, and lagoon water, confirming the diagnosis. This is the first documented report of waterfowl botulism in central Argentina and highlights the impact that delayed detection can have on bird populations.
Background: Botulism, a severe neuroparalytic disease caused by Clostridium botulinum neurotoxins, poses a significant risk to wild birds, especially waterfowl and their ecosystems. Recent trends show an increase in botulism outbreaks in wild birds, likely influenced by climate change impacting environmental factors. Unlike in humans, there is often a lack of regulation and surveillance of botulism in wild birds worldwide.
Case presentation: In January 2021, an outbreak of neurological disease characterized by locomotion difficulties, led to the deaths of approximately 300 waterfowl. Results confirmed BoNTs type C establishing the cause of the mortality.
Conclusions: This botulism outbreak underscores the critical need for early detection and intervention to prevent significant losses in wild bird populations. |
| format | Artículo |
| id | INTA23567 |
| institution | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Springer |
| publisherStr | Springer |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INTA235672025-08-26T14:30:43Z Botulism in waterfowl: case report in Argentina Ovelar, María Florencia Canton, German Jose García, Jorge Pablo Riccio, María Belén Rodríguez, Alicia Raquel Farace, María Isabel Alvarez, Ignacio Aves Botulism Aquatic Birds Bird Diseases Neurotoxins Botulismo Aves Acuáticas Enfermedades de la Aves Clostridium botulinum Neurotoxina Argentina Introduction: Botulism, a severe neuroparalytic disease caused by the botulinum toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum, poses significant threats to wild birds. This study describes a natural outbreak of type C botulism in waterfowl in the surroundings of a lagoon in Saavedra, Buenos Aires province, Argentina, during January 2021. The outbreak, affecting approximately 300 birds, was attributed to environmental conditions that allowed the proliferation of C. botulinum. Clinical signs included progressive weakness, paresis, flaccid paralysis, difficulties in locomotion and swimming, “limbing neck”, and nictitating membrane protrusion. No gross lesions were observed during autopsies, but mild congestion, hemorrhage, and pulmonary edema were noted microscopically. Toxin type C was detected in feces, serum samples, and lagoon water, confirming the diagnosis. This is the first documented report of waterfowl botulism in central Argentina and highlights the impact that delayed detection can have on bird populations. Background: Botulism, a severe neuroparalytic disease caused by Clostridium botulinum neurotoxins, poses a significant risk to wild birds, especially waterfowl and their ecosystems. Recent trends show an increase in botulism outbreaks in wild birds, likely influenced by climate change impacting environmental factors. Unlike in humans, there is often a lack of regulation and surveillance of botulism in wild birds worldwide. Case presentation: In January 2021, an outbreak of neurological disease characterized by locomotion difficulties, led to the deaths of approximately 300 waterfowl. Results confirmed BoNTs type C establishing the cause of the mortality. Conclusions: This botulism outbreak underscores the critical need for early detection and intervention to prevent significant losses in wild bird populations. EEA Balcarce Fil: Ovelar, María Florencia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible; Argentina Fil: Cantón, Germán José. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible; Argentina Fil: García, Jorge Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina Fil: Riccio, María Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina Fil: Rodríguez, Alicia Raquel. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas ANLIS. Servicio de Bacteriología Sanitaria; Argentina Fil: Farace, María Isabel. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas ANLIS. Servicio de Bacteriología Sanitaria; Argentina Fil: Alvarez, Ignacio. Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences. Department of Clinical Sciences; Suecia 2025-08-26T14:17:22Z 2025-08-26T14:17:22Z 2025-08-07 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/23567 https://actavetscand.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13028-025-00824-7 1751-0147 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13028-025-00824-7 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Springer Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 67 : 39 (August 2025) |
| spellingShingle | Aves Botulism Aquatic Birds Bird Diseases Neurotoxins Botulismo Aves Acuáticas Enfermedades de la Aves Clostridium botulinum Neurotoxina Argentina Ovelar, María Florencia Canton, German Jose García, Jorge Pablo Riccio, María Belén Rodríguez, Alicia Raquel Farace, María Isabel Alvarez, Ignacio Botulism in waterfowl: case report in Argentina |
| title | Botulism in waterfowl: case report in Argentina |
| title_full | Botulism in waterfowl: case report in Argentina |
| title_fullStr | Botulism in waterfowl: case report in Argentina |
| title_full_unstemmed | Botulism in waterfowl: case report in Argentina |
| title_short | Botulism in waterfowl: case report in Argentina |
| title_sort | botulism in waterfowl case report in argentina |
| topic | Aves Botulism Aquatic Birds Bird Diseases Neurotoxins Botulismo Aves Acuáticas Enfermedades de la Aves Clostridium botulinum Neurotoxina Argentina |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/23567 https://actavetscand.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13028-025-00824-7 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13028-025-00824-7 |
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