Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (CEPAVE), FCNyM, UNLP, CONICET, Boulevard 120 s/n e/61 y 62, 1900 La Plata, Argentina.
Department of Animal Ecology & Systematics, Justus Liebig University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, IFZD-35392 Giessen, Germany.
Parasitology. 2023 May;150(6):498-504. doi: 10.1017/S0031182023000185. Epub 2023 Mar 9.
Haemosporidia (Apicomplexa, Haemosporida) are protozoa that infect vertebrate blood cells and are transmitted by vectors. Among vertebrates, birds possess the greatest diversity of haemosporidia, historically placed in 3 genera: , and , the causative agent of avian malaria. In South America, existing data on haemosporidia are spatially and temporally dispersed, so increased surveillance is needed to improve the determination and diagnosis of these parasites. During the non-breeding season in 2020 and 2021, 60 common terns () were captured and bled as part of ongoing research on the population health of migratory birds on the Argentinian Atlantic coast. Blood samples and blood smears were obtained. Fifty-eight samples were screened for , and , as well as for parasites by nested polymerase chain reaction and by microscopic examination of smears. Two positive samples for were found. The cytochrome b lineages detected in the present study are found for the first time, and are close to lineages found in other bird orders. The low prevalence (3.6%) of haemoparasites found in this research was similar to those reported for previous studies on seabirds, including Charadriiformes. Our findings provide new information about the distribution and prevalence of haemosporidian parasites from charadriiforms in the southernmost part of South America, which remains understudied.
血孢子虫（孢子虫纲，血孢子目）是感染脊椎动物血细胞的原生动物，通过媒介传播。在脊椎动物中，鸟类拥有最多样化的血孢子虫，历史上分为 3 个属： 、 和 ，是鸟类疟疾的病原体。在南美洲，现有的血孢子虫数据在空间和时间上分布分散，因此需要加强监测，以提高对这些寄生虫的检测和诊断。在 2020 年和 2021 年的非繁殖季节，作为对阿根廷大西洋海岸候鸟种群健康研究的一部分，捕获并抽取了 60 只普通燕鸥（）的血液。采集了血液样本和血涂片。通过巢式聚合酶链反应和涂片的显微镜检查，对 58 个样本进行了 、 和 寄生虫以及 寄生虫的筛查。发现了两个 阳性样本。本研究中检测到的细胞色素 b 谱系是首次发现的，与在其他鸟类目发现的 谱系密切相关。本研究中发现的血液寄生虫低流行率（3.6%）与以前对包括鸻形目在内的海鸟的研究报告相似。我们的研究结果提供了有关在南美洲最南端的鸻形目鸟类中血孢子虫寄生虫分布和流行情况的新信息，该地区的研究仍然不足。
