Killer’s disease that causes mosquitoes threatens the merles

A disease behind mosquitoes arrived freshly arrived in Great Britain has spread great distances, scientists who were running to understand the risks for wild birds.

Infected insects can spread the Mortal Usutu virus to Blackbirds, which makes the famous singers fear.

New data show that the USUTU has spread in a large part of the south of England in five years and has been linked to decreases in certain populations of black birds.

Scientists monitor its spread in the midst of warnings that the mosquitoes and the diseases they carry can extend their distribution area under climate change.

“We have seen that the virus spread further than we thought, and that persisted,” Dr. Arran Folily told the animal and plant Health Agency (APHA) at the BBC.

Scientists at Weybridge APHA, Surrey, have been following mosquito origin diseases in wild birds for decades, in the midst of warnings that climate change transforms Europe into a potential reproductive ground for insects.

Longer summers, warmer temperatures and strong precipitation creates conditions for harmful insects to move in areas that were previously inhospitable to them.

Until 2020, all results came back clear. Then, after this year’s summer heat wave, USUTU was detected in several nestles in London.

“Blackbirds is specifically quite sensitive to the virus and since 2020, we have found a decrease in merles of around 40% in the Grand London,” said Dr. Folly.

“This gives an indication that in the future, we could obtain other viruses transmitted by mosquitoes emerging in the United Kingdom.”

Diseases such as USUTU are a growing threat to wild birds, in the middle of a multitude of other pressures, including loss of habitat, climate change and the use of pesticides.

• The USUTU virus was detected for the first time more than half a century ago in the USUTU River of Southern Africa

• He has spread in the world since, reaching Europe three decades ago and was picked up for the first time in the United Kingdom in 2020

• Merles are particularly sensitive to the virus, which can also infect horses and, from time to time, humans.

The latest data show that the USUTU has spread further than scientists were waiting.

It has now been detected in wild birds in a large part of the south of England, at least as far west as the Dorset and as far north as Cambridgeshire.

The size of a USUTU risk to wild birds is uncertain. The virus has been linked to the mass death of merles elsewhere in Europe, although this does not seem to be the case in Great Britain.

And the Blackbird remains one of the most common garden birds with a stable number in many regions of the country, especially in rural areas and in the North.

To disentangle the puzzle – and collect more data on the numbers of black birds – scientists have united their forces with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).

They call for volunteers to count the hikes in their gardens during the summer months to find out more about the aisles and the activities of the birds.

Around black birds reproduce and raise their young people, frequently seen jumping along the ground and sing branches of the trees on summer evenings.

Lucy Love, an ambassador of Garden Birdwatch for the BTO, knows the black birds in her gardens in sight and loves them.

“These are beautiful birds-intelligent, friendly and they have the most beautiful song with a beautiful melodic tone,” she explained.

“And we cannot lose them – they are a vital part of our ecosystem.”