Avian vacuolar myelinopathy

Avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM) is a fatal neurological disease that affects various waterbirds and raptors.

[1][2] Avian vacuolar myelinopathy is a newly discovered disease that was first identified in the field in 1994 when dead bald eagles were found near DeGray Lake in Arkansas in the United States.

Some raptors, like bald eagles, prey upon the diseased waterfowl and contract identical clinical symptoms from consuming toxin-containing tissues.

The results of this study found that drinking water or physical contact with hydrilla or areas in which it was present had no noticeable effect on test birds.

In 2021, after 25 years of research on this disease, its cause was finally identified to be a novel tryptophan derived alkaloid called aetokthonotoxin that is produced by the aforementioned bacteria.