Review of Newcastle disease in Cormorants

Pathogenic Newcastle disease virus (NDV) caused wide-spread mortality of Do uble-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) in Canada in 1960 and in Ca nada and the USA in 1992. Presence of pathogenic NDV in Double-crested Corm orants is important because of the potential risk of spread to other wild b irds and domestic poultry, and the effect on population dynamics of Double- crested Cormorants. The first isolation of NDV from a member of the Phalacr ocoracidae was from European Shags (P. aristotelis) in Scotland in 1949. It was found in Great Cormorants (P. carbo) from the Volga Delta in 1974, and in Double-crested Cormorants from Quebec in 1975. From 1990 to 1997, patho genic NDV was isolated from Double-crested Cormorants in different parts of North America in five of eight years. Newcastle disease may cause high mor tality of juvenile Double-crested Cormorants; affected birds typically have wing or leg paralysis, loss of balance, and non-suppurative inflammation o f brain and spinal cord. There are no reports of extensive mortality from N ewcastle disease in wild birds cohabiting with Double-crested Cormorants; h owever, it is likely that commercial range turkeys contracted Newcastle dis ease from Double-Crested Cormorants in North Dakota in 1992. Newcastle dise ase virus isolates from Double-crested Cormorants from widely separated bre eding sites and from different years have the same predicted amino acid seq uence of the fusion protein cleavage site. This sequence includes the subst itution of arginine for glutamine at position 110 of the fusion protein, wh ich appears to be unique for NDV isolates obtained from cormorants and asso ciated species since 1990.