Latest test results point to toxin in bird deaths

It's still not clear what killed about 60 birds near the Santa Ana River mouth in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, but animal care officials are narrowing down the culprit.

Test results that came in this week from Antech Diagnostics in Irvine ruled out parasites, fungus and cancer, said Debbie McGuire of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center, which handled the sick and dead birds.

Earlier tests from USC's Caron Lab showed domoic acid, a toxin from red tide algae, is probably not causing the seizures, disorientation and death seen with most of the birds.

The latest testing does indicate a toxin, but no more specific information is available.

"It doesn't tell us what the toxin is," but the tests suggest the birds may have come into contact with it through their food or environment, McGuire said.

McGuire said the center has seen about 60 birds since Feb. 4, and they've heard other reports of dead birds on beaches near the river mouth. Many of the birds brought to the center were already dead, and most that were alive were having seizures. Just three of the birds survived.