Lemus Jesús A, Blanco Guillermo
Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), 28006 Madrid, Spain.
Proc Biol Sci. 2009 Jun 22;276(1665):2307-13. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0071. Epub 2009 Mar 18.
Veterinary pharmaceuticals contained in dead livestock may be ingested by avian scavengers and negatively affect their health and consequently their population dynamics and conservation. We evaluated the potential role of antibiotics as immunodepressors using multiple parameters measuring the condition of the cellular and humoral immune system in griffon (Gyps fulvus), cinereous (Aegypius monachus) and Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus). We confirmed the presence of circulating antimicrobial residues, especially quinolones, in nestlings of the three vulture species breeding in central Spain. Individuals ingesting antibiotics showed clearly depressed cellular and humoral immune systems compared with nestlings from the control areas, which did not ingest antibiotics. Within central Spain, we found that individuals with circulating antibiotics showed depressed cellular (especially CD4(+)and CD8(+)T-lymphocyte subsets) and humoral (especially acellular APV complement and IL8-like) immune systems compared with nestlings without circulating antibiotics. This suggests that ingestion of antibiotics together with food may depress the immune system of developing nestlings, temporarily reducing their resistance to opportunistic pathogens, which require experimental confirmation. Medicated livestock carrion should be considered inadequate food for vultures due to their detrimental consequences on health derived from the ingestion and potential effects of the veterinary drugs contained in them and for this reason rejected as a management tool in conservation programmes.
死亡牲畜体内含有的兽药可能会被食腐鸟类摄入，对它们的健康产生负面影响，进而影响其种群动态和保护状况。我们使用多个参数来衡量胡兀鹫（Gyps fulvus）、秃鹫（Aegypius monachus）和埃及秃鹫（Neophron percnopterus）的细胞免疫和体液免疫系统状况，评估了抗生素作为免疫抑制剂的潜在作用。我们证实，在西班牙中部繁殖的这三种秃鹫雏鸟体内存在循环抗菌残留物，尤其是喹诺酮类。与未摄入抗生素的对照区域的雏鸟相比，摄入抗生素的个体的细胞免疫和体液免疫系统明显受到抑制。在西班牙中部，我们发现，与没有循环抗生素的雏鸟相比，体内有循环抗生素的个体的细胞免疫（尤其是CD4(+)和CD8(+)T淋巴细胞亚群）和体液免疫（尤其是无细胞APV补体和IL8样）系统受到抑制。这表明，与食物一起摄入抗生素可能会抑制发育中的雏鸟的免疫系统，暂时降低它们对机会性病原体的抵抗力，这需要实验证实。由于食用含药牲畜尸体对健康有不利影响，源于其中所含兽药的摄入及其潜在影响，因此应认为含药牲畜尸体对秃鹫来说是不合适的食物，因此在保护计划中应拒绝将其作为一种管理工具。
