Unprecedented Surge in Magpie Paralysis: Experts Investigate Mysterious Illness

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The wards are packed with sick songbirds suffering from a mystery illness dubbed magpie paralysis syndrome.

WA Wildlife CEO Dean Huxley said there’s barely enough room for them all.

“We’ve got multiple birds in the same enclosures out of necessity,” he told the Australian Associated Press.

Magpies are currently suffering from a mysterious condition that leads to paralysis, making it difficult for them to stand, fly, or even lift their heads.

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RSPCA Queensland has confirmed that the outbreak is not due to HN51, also known as bird flu, which has impacted every continent except Australia.

The pathogen has killed hundreds of millions of birds worldwide.

Nonetheless, it’s a development that has Huxley watching closely.

“To date, we’ve only seen this in the southwest of WA,” he said.

“The fact that we’re now seeing it on the east coast is quite alarming.”

But there’s no evidence to suggest the birds in Brisbane are falling victim to the same illness that’s paralysed the Western Australia birds.

There’s also not enough evidence to link it to so-called black and white bird neurological syndrome, outbreaks of which occurred on Australia’s east coast in 2003 and the summer of 2005 to 2006.

While bird flu produces similar symptoms, it is not limited to magpies alone and can affect other black-and-white birds, such as the closely related pied currawong and the completely unrelated magpie lark.

Ongoing investigation

Despite ongoing research by Murdoch University, in collaboration with Wildlife Health Australia and others, it seems more is known about what the illness is not, than what it actually is.

“They’ve ruled out some things but that doesn’t mean they’re any closer to identifying what’s causing it,” Huxley said.

He said phosphate and other types of heavy metal poisoning have already been ruled out.

For a while, it was suggested a brain parasite was responsible — but not all of the affected birds had it.

It’s a process of elimination, and for now, the best Huxley can say is that the scope of possibilities has been narrowed.

Otherwise, he said, “we’re still no closer to identifying what it is”.

And while poisoning hasn’t been completely ruled out, he said it would be unlikely for magpies to have been impacted across such a broad area as they have been in Western Australia.

That’s not the case in Brisbane, where the deaths have been concentrated in a tight cluster at and around Conroy’s address.

She said the situation has now stabilised, with no more sick magpies, and suspects other birds on her block had been poisoned.

She says further up the street, a neighbour messaged her to say the magpies on her property were exhibiting no signs of distress or illness.

Recovering birds

Huxley said with time and care, the magpies coming in to his hospital have a good chance of survival, despite there being no known antibiotic or antiviral treatment for the birds.

“We just provide a nice place for them to rest,” he says.

“We give them fluids, vitamins, and generally, from five to 12 days, they tend to resolve on their own.

“So it’s something that their bodies can fight, given time, but left in the wild they just get predated upon or succumb to the elements.”

In a statement, RSPCA Queensland advises anyone observing unusual bird deaths to contact the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.

It says people should avoid contact with sick or dead wildlife and ensure their pets don’t touch or consume affected animals.

Signs of avian influenza to look out for include lack of co-ordination, tremors, or swimming in circles; twisted necks or unusual posture, and the inability to stand or fly.