Fowl Cholera Suspected in Deaths of Some 1,400 Penguins in Chile

Fowl Cholera Suspected in Deaths of Some 1,400 Penguins in Chile

SANTIAGO – Fowl cholera, a highly contagious disease caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida, is the probable cause of death of 1,380 Magellanic penguins that washed up on the beaches of southern Chile in late March, according to a study by the Southern University of Chile.

The carcasses were found on March 28 along a five-kilometer (3.1-mile) stretch of coastline near Queule, a town in the Araucania region some 790 kilometers south of Santiago.

The daily La Tercera reported on Thursday that fowl cholera attacks aquatic and land fowl and is transmitted via water and direct contact among birds. It has not been shown to infect human beings, although that possibility has not been ruled out.

“The different varieties of the bacteria affect animals, but if there were very direct contact with man, there could be an infection. But it’s a very remote (possibility),” Southern University veterinarian Jorge Ulloa said.

Roberto Schlatter, a researcher at that university’s Zoological Institute, said the tests conducted thus far indicate fowl cholera as the cause of the deaths, although he said more are needed.

He said the source of the infection still has not been determined. “It could have come from a poultry farm or simply a tourist boat passed by and they threw out the bacteria with the garbage,” he added.

Fowl cholera causes hemorrhagic septicemia and is characterized by sudden onset, high fever and severe diarrhea. EFE

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