Deaths of ducks and other birds have been reported in the Diagonal Mar park since last August. In the last two months, 15 to 20 animals have died, according to the Diagonal Mar Movement, a neighborhood organization in the area.
Diagonal Mar Park
For their part, sources from Acció Climàtica de la Generalitat explained that the birds died from a bacterium known as “avian botulism” which is not of human transmission.
What Acció Climàtica does clarify is that avian botulism can intoxicate people who eat bad birds. It can also be present in fermented meats, smoked fish or homemade preserves.
Birds dying in Diagonal Mar park
But what is avian botulism?
According to the Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, it is defined as “a frequent intoxication in aquatic birds caused by the bacterial toxin Clostridium Botulinum”. The appearance of this toxin is very common during the hot months of the year.
The best carriers of the bacteria are fly larvae that have fed on decomposing carcasses (ideal scenario for bacterial growth). Afterwards, the birds ingest these larval carriers and become intoxicated.
It is worth mentioning that the type of toxin that most affects birds in Europe is the C/D type. Once the birds are intoxicated they present a flaccid paralysis which prevents them from moving and keeping their necks upright. And that is when they die from drowning.
Once the death of the birds was reported, rural agents of the Generalitat collected some of them following the established protocols. The objective, then, was to take the carcasses of the animals for later analysis in order to study the causes of the deaths.
Acció Climàtica is awaiting the results of the analysis of the most recently collected birds.
In the case of the Diagonal Mar park, the City Council has not yet confirmed the exact number of dead birds. The cause of death of the most recent ones is expected to be reconfirmed.
Lack of maintenance?
The incivility and lack of maintenance of the Diagonal del Mar park has been denounced on several occasions, as every day it deteriorates more and more due to the dirty water of the lake, trampled vegetation, graffiti and misuse of the equipment.
In fact, before the authorities, neighbors in the sector had already reported the death of several birds.
At the end of August, the Generalitat detected a case of avian influenza in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, as a wild duck tested positive for this disease.
At the time, Acció Climàtica established a control zone of three kilometers around the site and another security zone between three and ten kilometers near the site. The remains of this wild bird were analyzed to determine the cause of the outbreak.
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