 Like other honeycreepers, fowlpox ("Poxvirus avium") may also be lethal to ʻapapane, which, like avian malaria, is transmitted by mosquitoes.Fowlpox causes wart-like lesions to form around the bird's eyes, beak, legs, or feet, inhibiting feeding, seeing, or perching.It is believed that at least a small portion of the population is becoming resistant to malaria, as some pairs have been seen breeding in mid-elevation forests, ~300m, where the rate of malaria transmission is high.