Birds Fight Alien Parasites: Darwin's Finches Develop Antibodies to Flies, Pox Virus

[Staff]

Birds Fight Alien Parasites: Darwin's Finches Develop Antibodies to Flies, Pox Virus
ScienceDaily
Jan. 7, 2010

Birds fight alien parasites: Darwin's finches develop antibodies to flies, pox virus
excerpt from above:

With the discovery that the medium ground finches produce antibodies aimed specifically at the parasites -- a pox virus and a nest fly -- "the next step is to determine if this immune response is helping the birds or hurting the birds," says University of Utah biology Professor Dale Clayton, who led the new study.

One cannot assume the immune response will help because antibodies also can be involved in autoimmune diseases and allergy symptoms.
Nevertheless the new study is significant because...

[TheLorax]

This serves as a timely reminder that we should all be take additional steps cleaning our bird feeders regularly. Cleaning our bird feeders with a mild solution of bleach minimizes the risk of spreading disease among finches and other birds