Wildlife Conservation Society, Zoological Health Program, Bronx, NY 10460, USA,
Wildlife Conservation Society, Zoological Health Program, Bronx, NY 10460, USA.
J Zoo Wildl Med. 2021 Apr;52(1):206-216. doi: 10.1638/2020-0044.
Sarcocystosis was diagnosed in a captive flock of thick-billed parrots () at the Wildlife Conservation Society's Queens Zoo. Since the index case in 2005, 45% of mortalities in birds over 30 days of age were due to sarcocystosis. was repeatedly identified as the causative agent. The disease predominantly affected younger adult parrots. Administration of antiparasitic medications prior to development of respiratory signs prolonged life in infected birds, but disease was fatal until utilization of a three-drug combination (pyrimethamine, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and ponazuril). This protocol may require in excess of 6 mo of therapy to achieve clinical resolution of active disease. Plasma creatine kinase activity was found to be the most useful test in diagnosing infection and monitoring response to therapy. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for apicomplexan organisms on antemortem whole blood, blood smears, or dried blood spots helped confirm suspected cases, but due to the poor sensitivity was sometimes misleading when assessing response to therapy or resolution of clinical disease. Preventive measures, focusing on exclusion and removal of Virginia opossums () from zoo grounds failed to curtail the occurrence of sarcocystosis in the flock. Other preventative steps, such as modification of feeding stations to exclude potential arthropod paratenic hosts and prophylaxis trials with diclazuril, appeared to successfully mitigate new infections. Given the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, prevention of exposure to is essential to ex-situ conservation efforts for thick-billed parrots.
肉孢子虫病在野生动物保护协会皇后区动物园的一群厚嘴鹦鹉（）中被诊断出来。自 2005 年首例病例以来，30 日龄以上鸟类的死亡率中有 45%是由肉孢子虫病引起的。被反复鉴定为病原体。这种疾病主要影响年轻的成年鹦鹉。在出现呼吸道症状之前给予驱虫药物可以延长感染鸟类的寿命，但在使用三种药物组合（乙氧嘧啶、三甲氧苄氨嘧啶磺胺和地克珠利）之前，疾病是致命的。该方案可能需要超过 6 个月的治疗时间才能达到活动性疾病的临床缓解。研究发现，血浆肌酸激酶活性是诊断感染和监测治疗反应最有用的测试。聚合酶链反应（PCR）用于检测生前全血、血涂片或干血斑中的顶复门生物有助于确认疑似病例，但由于敏感性差，在评估治疗反应或临床疾病缓解时有时会产生误导。预防措施，重点是排除和清除动物园内的弗吉尼亚负鼠（），未能遏制该群鸟肉孢子虫病的发生。其他预防措施，如修改饲养站以排除潜在的节肢动物中间宿主，以及用地克珠利进行预防试验，似乎成功地减轻了新的感染。鉴于诊断和治疗方面的挑战，防止接触是厚嘴鹦鹉异地保护工作的关键。
