Hello all,
Yes, American Goldfinches can be infected with the same bacterium that
causes conjunctivitis in House Finches, and infections can lead to the same
sort of conjunctivitis disease. However, it appears that a much smaller
proportion of goldfinches that are infected will actually show signs of the
disease than with House Finches and typically the disease is less severe in
goldfinches than in House Finches. Those are the general patterns that we have
found.
There is also the possibility that the conjunctivitis could be caused by an
avian pox virus: the symptoms can appear similar from a distance. My
understanding is that this would be more expected in western North America than
around here, and so my impression is that the diseased birds that Caroline and
Marie have seen are likely caused by the Mycoplasma bacteria that have been
circulating in House Finches since the mid-1990s.
Wesley Hochachka
-Original Message-
From: bounce-38093892-3494...@list.cornell.edu
[mailto:bounce-38093892-3494...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Marie P Read
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 8:29 PM
To: Caroline Manring; CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: RE: [cayugabirds-l] Goldfinch conjunctivitis?
I have had a young goldfinch with what looks to be conjunctivitis at my feeder
lately.
Marie
Marie Read Wildlife Photography
452 Ringwood Road
Freeville NY 13068 USA
Phone 607-539-6608
e-mail m...@cornell.edu
http://www.marieread.com
Now on FaceBook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Read-Wildlife-Photography/104356136271727
From: bounce-38093863-5851...@list.cornell.edu
[bounce-38093863-5851...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Caroline Manring
[carolinemanr...@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 8:19 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Goldfinch conjunctivitis?
I'm wondering whether goldfinches get conjunctivitis the way House Finches have
been-- my cousin found a goldfinch that looked to be suffering from something
similar to the conjuncitivitis I've seen in House Finches, though I couldn't
see details from the photo. I'd never run into a goldfinch with this problem
before. Does anyone know about this?
Thanks,
Caroline Manring
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