Mold the culprit in duck deaths

USDA: Moldy Grain, Not Bird Flu, Caused Idaho Duck Deaths

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Moldy grain, not bird flu, caused a large mallard duck die-off in Idaho, a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokeswoman said Friday. Tests conducted at the National Wildlife Health Center, which is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey, found no avian influenza, said USDA spokeswoman Angela Harless.

Instead, it’s been determined that the birds were sickened by eating mold on corn, she said. Mold produces a toxin that can sicken wildlife when ingested. As many as 2,500 mallard ducks died along a southeastern Idaho creek bed, state officials have said.

The ducks mysteriously began dying last week around Land Springs Creek, about 180 miles southeast of Boise. Mark Drew, a wildlife veterinarian with the state Department of Agriculture told The Associated Press earlier this week the ducks likely were exposed to a single contamination source and gathered at the creek, their mutual roosting point, to die.

State officials had said since the investigation into the die-off began that bird flu was unlikely to be the cause.