Parsons Nola J, Gous Tertius A, van Wilpe Erna, Strauss Venessa, Vanstreels Ralph Eric
Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), PO Box 11116, Bloubergrant, Cape Town, 7443, South Africa.
Dis Aquat Organ. 2015 Oct 16;116(2):149-55. doi: 10.3354/dao02907.
Rehabilitation is an important strategy for the conservation of the Endangered African penguin Spheniscus demersus, and disease has been raised as a concern in the management of the species, both in the wild and in rehabilitation centres. We report 8 cases of herpesvirus-like respiratory infection in African penguin chicks undergoing rehabilitation between 2010 and 2013 at a facility in Cape Town, South Africa. Infection was confirmed through the identification of viral inclusions in the tracheal epithelium and demonstration of particles consistent with herpesvirus by electron microscopy, whereas virus isolation in eggs, serology and PCR testing failed to detect the virus. Only penguin chicks were affected; they were in poor body condition, and in 2 cases infection occurred prior to admission to the rehabilitation centre. The role played by the herpesvirus-like infection in the overall respiratory disease syndrome is uncertain, due to identification of lesions in only a small proportion of the chicks as well as to the occurrence of other concurrent pathological processes. Further studies are advised to characterise the specific virus involved through the development of sensitive diagnostic methods and to clarify the epidemiology and significance of these infections in wild African penguins.
康复是濒危物种非洲企鹅（Spheniscus demersus）保护工作的一项重要策略，在该物种的野外及康复中心管理中，疾病一直是备受关注的问题。我们报告了2010年至2013年间，在南非开普敦一家机构接受康复治疗的非洲企鹅幼雏中出现的8例类疱疹病毒呼吸道感染病例。通过在气管上皮细胞中鉴定病毒包涵体以及用电镜证明存在与疱疹病毒一致的颗粒来确诊感染，而在鸡蛋中进行病毒分离、血清学检测和PCR检测均未能检测到该病毒。仅企鹅幼雏受到影响；它们身体状况不佳，且有2例感染发生在进入康复中心之前。由于仅在一小部分幼雏中发现病变以及存在其他并发病理过程，类疱疹病毒感染在整体呼吸道疾病综合征中所起的作用尚不确定。建议开展进一步研究，通过开发灵敏的诊断方法来鉴定所涉及的特定病毒，并阐明这些感染在野生非洲企鹅中的流行病学及意义。
