Santos Tiziano, de Oliveira Jaqueline B, Vaughan Christopher, Santiago Heber
Instituto Internacional de Manejo y Conservación de Vida Sivestre (ICOMVIS), Universidad Nacional Autónoma, Apdo. 1350-3000, Heredia, Costa Rica.
Rev Biol Trop. 2011 Sep;59(3):1265-74.
Successful programs for ex situ and in situ conservation and management of raptors require detailed knowledge about their pathogens. The purpose of this study was to identify the internal parasites of some captive raptors in Mexico, as well as to verify their impact in the health status of infected birds. Birds of prey were confiscated and kept in captivity at the Centro de Investigación y Conservación de Vida Silvestre (CIVS) in Los Reyes La Paz, Mexico State. For this, fecal and blood samples from 74 birds of prey (66 Falconiformes and eight Strigiformes) of 15 species, juveniles and adults from both sexes (39 males and 35 female), were examined for the presence of gastrointestinal and blood parasites. Besides, the oropharyngeal cavity was macroscopically examined for the presence of lesions compatible with trichomoniasis. Among our results we found that lesions compatible with Trichomonas gallinae infection were detected only in two Red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) (2.7%); nevertheless, infected birds were in good physical condition. Overall, gastrointestinal parasites were found in 10 (13.5%) raptors: nine falconiforms (13.6%) and one strigiform (12.5%), which mainly presented a single type of gastrointestinal parasite (90%). Eimeria spp. was detected in Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), Swainson's hawk (Buteo swainsoni), Red-tailed hawk (B. jamaicensis) and Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus); whereas trematodes eggs were found in Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) and Swainson's hawk (B. swainsoni). Furthermore, eggs of Capillaria spp. were found in one Swainson's hawk (B. swainsoni), which was also infected by trematodes. Hemoprotozoarian were detected in five (6.7%) falconiforms: Haemoproteus spp. in American kestrel (F. sparverius) and Leucocytozoon spp. in Red-tailed hawk (B. jamaicencis). Despite this, no clinical signs referable to gastrointestinal or blood parasite infection were observed in any birds. All parasites identified were recorded for the first time in raptors from Mexico. Furthermore, this represents the first report for T. gallinae, trematodes, Haemoproteus spp. and Leucocytozoon spp. in raptors from Latin America. Diagnosis and control of parasitic infections should be a part of the routine in health care evaluations for ex situ raptor populations. Finally, this information is also valuable for in situ conservation actions on these birds.
猛禽迁地和就地保护及管理的成功方案需要对其病原体有详细了解。本研究的目的是确定墨西哥一些圈养猛禽的体内寄生虫，并核实其对受感染鸟类健康状况的影响。猛禽被没收后圈养在墨西哥州洛斯雷耶斯拉巴斯的野生动物研究与保护中心（CIVS）。为此，对15个物种的74只猛禽（66只隼形目和8只鸮形目）的粪便和血液样本进行了检查，这些猛禽有 juveniles 和成年个体，雌雄皆有（39只雄性和35只雌性），以检测胃肠道和血液寄生虫的存在。此外，对口咽腔进行了宏观检查，以确定是否存在与毛滴虫病相符的病变。在我们的研究结果中，仅在两只红尾鹰（赤肩鵟）（2.7%）中检测到与鸡毛滴虫感染相符的病变；然而，受感染的鸟类身体状况良好。总体而言，在10只（13.5%）猛禽中发现了胃肠道寄生虫：9只隼形目（13.6%）和1只鸮形目（12.5%），它们主要呈现单一类型的胃肠道寄生虫（90%）。在哈里斯鹰（白腹鹰）、斯文森鹰（斯氏鵟）、红尾鹰（赤肩鵟）和大角鸮中检测到艾美耳属寄生虫；而在矛隼和斯文森鹰（斯氏鵟）中发现了吸虫卵。此外，在一只斯文森鹰（斯氏鵟）中发现了毛细线虫属的卵，这只鹰也感染了吸虫。在5只（6.7%）隼形目中检测到血原虫：在美洲隼中检测到血变原虫属，在红尾鹰（赤肩鵟）中检测到白细胞原虫属。尽管如此，在任何鸟类中均未观察到与胃肠道或血液寄生虫感染相关的临床症状。所有鉴定出的寄生虫均为首次在墨西哥的猛禽中记录。此外，这是拉丁美洲猛禽中鸡毛滴虫、吸虫、血变原虫属和白细胞原虫属的首次报告。寄生虫感染的诊断和控制应成为迁地猛禽种群健康评估常规工作的一部分。最后，这些信息对这些鸟类的就地保护行动也很有价值。
