PATIENT:  Bald Eagle, #10-2220

LOCATION OF RESCUE:  King George County, Virginia

CAUSE OF ADMISSION:   Avian pox?

ADMISSION DATE:  November 21, 2010

PROGNOSIS:  Died December 4 

On November 20 Joyce Hall, a resident of King George County, spotted a large juvenile Bald Eagle, on the ground and unable to fly, on her driveway.    The eagle was captured and taken to licensed wildlife rehabilitator Diana O’Connor, who stabilized and housed the bird overnight.    On November 21 Ms. Hall drove the eagle to the Wildlife Center.

On admission, the eagle — the 21st Bald Eagle admitted for treatment thus far in 2010 — was assigned Patient # 10-2220.  The bird, a very large juvenile and likely a female, was thin and has lesions around its eyes, beak, and feet — lesions consistent with Avian Pox.  [Additional background information on Avian Pox].  Radiographs were taken and the vets found no fractures; the bird is otherwise bright and feisty.

The Bald Eagle is currently being housed in the Center’s isolation ward, in a special unit purchased through the financial support of  fans of Buddy, the Norfolk Botanical Garden Bald Eagle admitted in 2008 with Avian Pox.   

There is no “cure” for Avian Pox — treatment generally involves providing supportive care until the patient’s immune system can respond to the infection.  Eagle #10-2220 is receiving vitamin supplements, an anti-lice medication, and antibiotics [to minimize secondary infections].  The lesions on its feet have been scrubbed and treated with a topical antibiotic cream.  

November 29 update

Over the course of the past week, the lesions present on the eagle’s head and feet have gradually started to dry up and slough off.  The veterinary team continue to scrub the lesions on the bird’s feet.  There is marked improvement around the eagle’s eyes and beak, though a large pox lesion still remains over the left nostril of the bird’s beak.  Hopefully more improvements will be seen over the next couple of weeks. 

December 6 update

While the pox lesions on Bald Eagle #10-2220’s face and feet were slowly improving over the past week, the bird showed a decreased appetite and was noticeably more depressed on December 3.  Bloodwork revealed a very high white blood cell count.  When the veterinary team arrived on the morning of December 4 and checked on all the patients, they found that the eagle died during the night. 

Dr. Kelly performed a necropsy on the bird and found it to be in good body condition with no large abnormalities other than an enlarged spleen.  There were several plaques in one of the bird’s air sacs; these will be cultured to see if there was a bacterial or fungal infection in the air sac.  Samples are also being sent out for further testing.  

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