Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinárias, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Presidente Antônio Carlos, 31270-901, Brazil.
Fundação de Parques Municipais e Zoobotânica de Belo Horizonte, Avenida Otacílio Negrão de Lima, 31365-450, Brazil.
J Zoo Wildl Med. 2022 Jun;53(2):455-460. doi: 10.1638/2021-0130.
Some wild species of mammals and birds are prone to excessive iron accumulation, especially when maintained in human care. Hemosiderosis is the process of intracellular accumulation of iron without evidence of toxicity, whereas hemochromatosis is characterized by severe iron accumulation with accompanying organ damage. Iron storage disease (ISD) occurs when organ damage is severe and causing clinical signs. This retrospective study investigated the occurrence of hemosiderosis and ISD across a variety of avian taxa, including captive and free-ranging birds. Archived paraffin-embedded hepatic samples from 103 birds from Belo Horizonte Zoo that died naturally in the period of 2008 to 2018 were re-evaluated with histologic and morphometric techniques, focusing on the identification and scoring of iron deposits in hepatocytes and the quantification of total affected hepatic area. The birds represented 13 orders, 22 families, and 52 genera, and 66 (64.0%) had some degree of iron accumulation in their liver. Importantly, no statistical difference was observed in the occurrence of iron accumulation between families, orders, or origin (free-ranging or captive). Direct and positive correlation was observed between the total area affected by the iron deposits and the histologic score. In this study, there were two cases with severe iron accumulation and clinical signs compatible with ISD: a barefaced curassow () and a channel-billed toucan (). This study indicates that iron accumulation may occur in a wide range of avian species, with frequencies and intensities that are similar between free-ranging birds and those in human care. It describes for the first time the occurrence of ISD in a Galliform species.
一些野生哺乳动物和鸟类容易过度积累铁，尤其是在人类照顾下。血色素沉着症是指细胞内铁积累而没有毒性的过程，而血色病则以严重的铁积累伴随着器官损伤为特征。当器官损伤严重并导致临床症状时，就会发生铁储存病（ISD）。本回顾性研究调查了各种鸟类物种中血色素沉着症和 ISD 的发生情况，包括圈养和自由放养的鸟类。重新评估了来自贝洛奥里藏特动物园的 103 只自然死亡的鸟类的存档石蜡包埋肝组织样本，这些鸟类的死亡时间为 2008 年至 2018 年，使用组织学和形态计量技术，重点关注肝细胞中铁沉积物的鉴定和评分，以及总受影响的肝区的定量。这些鸟类代表了 13 个目、22 个科和 52 个属，其中 66 只（64.0%）的肝脏有一定程度的铁积累。重要的是，在家庭、目或起源（自由放养或圈养）之间，铁积累的发生没有统计学差异。铁沉积物总受影响面积与组织学评分之间存在直接正相关。在这项研究中，有两个严重铁积累的病例，其临床症状与 ISD 相符：秃脸角雉（）和斑嘴巨嘴鸟（）。本研究表明，铁积累可能发生在广泛的鸟类物种中，在自由放养鸟类和人类照顾的鸟类之间，其频率和强度相似。它首次描述了 ISD 在一个鹑形目物种中的发生。
