Domoic acid is ruled out

Test results released Wednesday indicate domoic acid was not responsible for the deaths and illnesses of scores of cormorants and pelicans along the coast, said Debbie McGuire, the wildlife director of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center.

More than a dozen local birds have fallen sick or died; dozens from Orange County have been affected.

Nearly two dozen were brought in over the weekend, McGuire said.

About half of them died or had to be euthanized, she said.

Over the weekend, care center staff sent blood samples to USC to test for domoic acid poisoning, which is caused by algae blooms. McGuire said the birds’ symptoms don’t resemble that, and if any of the birds did suffer domoic acid poisoning, it was likely only a secondary cause.

Out of 24 birds tested, four had low levels of domoic acid toxicity, a low enough number to rule out the potential cause, McGuire said.

“My theory is that it’s still some kind of virus,” she said.

Experts haven’t ruled out the food supply as the possible cause.

Birds have come into the care center with blistered, swollen feet with spots of dead tissue, she said. Some even resemble frostbite she attributed to the local cold spell.

Other birds have come in with respiratory infections limited to their upper throats.

When the birds’ lungs are examined, they’re clean. But the area near the top of the throat is congested, McGuire said.

A dead pelican brought in Wednesday by Newport’s Dory fisherman joined tissue samples of pelican pouches and feet with lesions — and portions of major organs, including the brain, spleen, liver and kidney — sent to the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory at UC Davis.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com. CANDICE BAKER may be reached at (714) 966-4631 or at candice.baker@latimes.com.