Nielsen Adriana M W, Nielsen Søren S, King Catherine E, Bertelsen Mads F
Center for Zoo and Wild Animal Health, Copenhagen Zoo, Roskildevej 38, DK-2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark.
J Zoo Wildl Med. 2010 Mar;41(1):44-9. doi: 10.1638/2009-0095.1.
Foot lesions can compromise the health and welfare of captive birds. In this study, we estimated the prevalence of foot lesions in captive flamingos (Phoenicopteridae). The study was based on photos of 1,495 pairs of foot soles from 854 flamingos in 18 European and two Texan (USA) zoological collections. Methodology for evaluating flamingo feet lesions was developed for this project because no suitable method had been reported in the literature. Four types of foot lesions were identified: hyperkeratoses, fissures, nodular lesions, and papillomatous growths. Seven areas on each foot received a severity score from 0 to 2 for each type of lesion (0 = no lesion, 1 = mild to moderate lesion, 2 = severe lesion). The prevalence of birds with lesions (scores 1 or 2) were 100%, 87%, 17%, and 46% for hyperkeratosis, fissures, nodular lesions, and papillomatous growths, respectively. Birds with severe lesions (score 2) constituted 67%, 46%, 4%, and 12% for hyperkeratosis, fissures, nodular lesions, and papillomatous growths, respectively. Hyperkeratosis and nodular lesions were most prevalent on the base of the foot and the proximal portion of the digits, likely reflecting those areas bearing the most weight. The second and fourth digits were most affected with fissures and papillomatous lesions; these areas of the foot appear to be where the most flexion occurs during ambulation. The study demonstrates that foot lesions are highly prevalent and widely distributed in the study population, indicating that they are an extensive problem in captive flamingos.
足部病变会损害圈养鸟类的健康和福祉。在本研究中，我们估计了圈养火烈鸟（红鹳科）足部病变的患病率。该研究基于来自18个欧洲和2个美国得克萨斯州动物园的854只火烈鸟的1495双足底照片。由于文献中未报道合适的方法，因此为本项目开发了评估火烈鸟足部病变的方法。识别出四种类型的足部病变：角化过度、裂缝、结节性病变和乳头状瘤样增生。每只脚的七个区域针对每种病变类型给予0至2的严重程度评分（0 = 无病变，1 = 轻度至中度病变，2 = 严重病变）。有病变（评分1或2）的鸟类中，角化过度、裂缝、结节性病变和乳头状瘤样增生的患病率分别为100%、87%、17%和46%。有严重病变（评分2）的鸟类中，角化过度、裂缝、结节性病变和乳头状瘤样增生分别占67%、46%、4%和12%。角化过度和结节性病变在脚底和趾近端最为普遍，这可能反映了这些部位承受的重量最大。第二和第四趾受裂缝和乳头状瘤样病变影响最大；足部的这些区域似乎是行走过程中弯曲最多的地方。该研究表明，足部病变在研究群体中高度普遍且分布广泛，表明它们是圈养火烈鸟中一个广泛存在的问题。
