Lennon Rosie J, Dunn Jenny C, Stockdale Jennifer E, Goodman Simon J, Morris Antony J, Hamer Keith C
School of Biology, Irene Manton Building, University of Leeds, Leeds LS9 2JT, UK.
Parasitology. 2013 Sep;140(11):1368-76. doi: 10.1017/S0031182013000887. Epub 2013 Jul 19.
Trichomonas gallinae is an emerging pathogen in wild birds, linked to recent declines in finch (Fringillidae) populations across Europe. Globally, the main hosts for this parasite are species of Columbidae (doves and pigeons); here we carry out the first investigation into the presence and incidence of Trichomonas in four species of Columbidae in the UK, through live sampling of wild-caught birds and subsequent PCR. We report the first known UK cases of Trichomonas infection in 86% of European Turtle Doves Streptopelia turtur sampled, along with 86% of Eurasian Collared Doves Streptopelia decaocto, 47% of Woodpigeons Columba palumbus and 40% of Stock Doves Columba oenas. Birds were more likely to be infected if the farm provided supplementary food for gamebirds. We found three strains of T. gallinae and one strain clustering within the Trichomonas tenax clade, not previously associated with avian hosts in the UK. One T. gallinae strain was identical at the ITS/5.8S/ITS2 ribosomal region to that responsible for the finch trichomonosis epizootic. We highlight the importance of increasing our knowledge of the diversity and ecological implications of Trichomonas parasites in order further to understand the sub-clinical impacts of parasite infection.
鸽毛滴虫是野生鸟类中一种新出现的病原体，与欧洲各地雀科（Fringillidae）鸟类数量近期的减少有关。在全球范围内，这种寄生虫的主要宿主是鸠鸽科（Columbidae，鸽子和鸠）的物种；在此，我们通过对野生捕获鸟类进行现场采样及后续的聚合酶链反应（PCR），首次对英国四种鸠鸽科鸟类中鸽毛滴虫的存在情况和感染率展开调查。我们报告了英国首例已知的鸽毛滴虫感染病例，在采样的欧洲斑鸠（Streptopelia turtur）中感染率为86%，欧亚领鸽（Streptopelia decaocto）中为86%，欧鸽（Columba palumbus）中为47%，岩鸽（Columba oenas）中为40%。如果农场为猎鸟提供补充食物，鸟类感染的可能性更大。我们发现了三株鸽毛滴虫菌株以及一株聚集在口腔毛滴虫分支内的菌株，此前在英国该菌株与鸟类宿主并无关联。其中一株鸽毛滴虫菌株在内部转录间隔区（ITS）/5.8S/ITS2核糖体区域与导致雀科毛滴虫病流行的菌株相同。我们强调了增加对毛滴虫寄生虫多样性及其生态影响了解的重要性，以便进一步了解寄生虫感染的亚临床影响。
