Environment DEC
From the November 2003 issue
State Discovers Virus in Double-Crested Cormorants
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Erin M. Crotty announced that DEC's Wildlife Pathology Unit (WPU) has identified the virus responsible for causing illness in and the death of a number of double-crested cormorants on Lake Champlain and Oneida Lake.
The diagnosis of PMV-1 (Paramyxovirus-1), more commonly known as Cormorant Newcastle Virus (CNV), was a cooperative effort between DEC, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Wildlife Health Center.
CNV is in the family of viruses called Paramyxidae and is spread from bird to bird primarily by respiratory secretions and fecal excretions. The disease is not an exotic Newcastle Virus. It was detected once before in New York's cormorants and has been identified for at least the last dozen years in other parts of the United States and Canada. In New York State, the disease has been isolated to highly aquatic cormorants.
A graduate research assistant in Vermont first notified DEC of ill cormorants on Lake Champlain in late August, and a Cornell graduate student observed unusual cormorant mortality on Oneida Lake around the same time. Currently, there is no evidence to indicate that the virus has impacted terns or other wild birds. As in past outbreaks in cormorants, the disease appears to be self-limiting. DEC expects to conduct further research to determine what actions can be taken to mitigate the impact of the virus on cormorants.
