Hundreds of birds have recently been reported dead near an alkaline lake in Erdos, in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous region. Residents raised concerns that the deaths could be a result of water contamination from a nearby chemical and industrial companies. But local authorities on Friday published the results of their investigation, which pointed to a bacterial infection.
"Pasteurella is an infectious disease that affects birds. The source is probably migrating birds. This happened before in 2009. Over two thousand birds died then in a lake here from the same cause," Wu Cuilan, veterinary director of Wushanqi, Erdos, said.
Charhan Nur Lake is a natural alkaline lake in the Wushanqi region of Erdos. A report from the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that over 500 birds had been found dead at the lake within just two weeks, from July 17th to 31st. That report also backed the theory that a bacterial infection was to blame. Local environmental authorities conducted water quality inspections, which revealed four indicators, including fecal coliform, that failed to meet the national standard for waste-water discharge.
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