School of Veterinary Medicine, National University of Loja, Loja 110110, Ecuador.
Zoology Museum (LOUNAZ), National University of Loja, Loja 110110, Ecuador.
J Zoo Wildl Med. 2021 Sep;52(3):1003-1008. doi: 10.1638/2020-0233.
Parasitic infections are frequent in cosmopolitan feral pigeons () that live in cities, but little is known about the effects of parasites in urban feral pigeon populations. A survey was conducted to evaluate the occurrence of endoparasites and the risk factors of feral pigeons in the city of Loja in southern Ecuador between August and October 2019. A total of 166 fecal samples and 80 peripheral blood smears were collected and examined by the McMaster flotation method and Giemsa staining, respectively. The prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites was 79.51% (132/166). Parasites included: in 13.64% (18/132), sp. in 3.79% (5/132), sp. in 25% (33/132), unidentified coccidia in 75% (99/132), and an unidentified nematode egg in 0.7% (1/132). The presence of intracellular gamonts of sp. was found in 87.50% (70/80) of examined blood smears. The frequency and intensity of nematodes were different according to the site. infection was more frequent in individuals with low body mass index. More research should be undertaken to understand parasitic infections and their effects on cosmopolitan synanthropic feral pigeons.
城市中生活的鸽子（）常感染寄生虫，但对于城市中野鸽寄生虫的影响知之甚少。本研究于 2019 年 8 月至 10 月在厄瓜多尔南部城市洛哈开展，旨在评估内寄生虫的发生情况及野鸽的感染风险因素。共采集 166 份粪便样本和 80 份外周血涂片，分别采用麦克马斯特漂浮法和吉姆萨染色法进行检查。胃肠道寄生虫的流行率为 79.51%（132/166）。寄生虫包括：13.64%（18/132）的 ，3.79%（5/132）的 ，25%（33/132）的 ，75%（99/132）未鉴定的球虫，和 0.7%（1/132）未鉴定的线虫卵。在 80 份检查的血涂片样本中，87.50%（70/80）发现了 sp. 的内细胞配子体。线虫的感染频率和强度根据部位不同而有所差异。感染的发生率在低体重指数个体中更高。应开展更多研究以了解寄生虫感染及其对世界性群居野鸽的影响。
