Prompiram Phirom, Poltep Kanaporn, Chaisilp Nattarun, Chakritbudsabong Warunya, Buamas Supakit, Rungarunlert Sasitorn
The Monitoring and Surveillance Center for Zoonotic Diseases in Wildlife and Exotic Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand.
Department of Preclinic and Applied Animal Science, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Jun 16;13(12):2006. doi: 10.3390/ani13122006.
Haemosporidian parasites are vector-borne parasites infecting terrestrial vertebrates as well as avian species, such as the White-breasted Waterhen, a Gruiformes waterbird found in lowlands near wetlands and distributed throughout Thailand. However, information regarding haemosporidia infection in this species is lacking. To establish regional information, 17 blood samples were collected from White-breasted Waterhens. Four haemoparasite lineages were identified in six blood samples: , , , and an unidentified species. was characterized with morphological features in White-breasted Waterhens for the first time; the morphological characteristics were consistent with previous descriptions. was more closely related to species of Passeriformes birds than to those of Gruiformes birds. The parasites infecting these White-breasted Waterhens previously caused severe avian malaria in other host species. The unidentified species had rarely been documented, although it was reported in the vector and was possibly associated with specialist parasites either as host or habitat. Our findings reveal multiple haemosporidian species reflecting the role of this avian host as a carrier of haemosporidians. This study offers species records and molecular materials that may provide critical information for further targeted research into these haemosporidia.
血孢子虫寄生虫是通过媒介传播的寄生虫，可感染陆生脊椎动物以及鸟类，如白胸苦恶鸟，这是一种鹤形目水鸟，在湿地附近的低地被发现，分布于泰国各地。然而，关于该物种血孢子虫感染的信息却很缺乏。为了建立区域信息，从白胸苦恶鸟身上采集了17份血液样本。在6份血液样本中鉴定出了4种血寄生虫谱系： 、 、 ，以及一种未鉴定的 物种。首次在白胸苦恶鸟中对 进行了形态学特征描述；其形态特征与先前的描述一致。 与雀形目鸟类的 物种相比，与鹤形目鸟类的 物种关系更为密切。感染这些白胸苦恶鸟的 寄生虫此前在其他宿主物种中引发了严重的禽疟疾。这种未鉴定的 物种很少被记录，尽管它在 媒介中被报道过，并且可能作为宿主或栖息地与专性寄生虫有关。我们的研究结果揭示了多种血孢子虫物种，反映了这种鸟类宿主作为血孢子虫携带者的作用。这项研究提供了物种记录和分子材料，可能为进一步针对这些血孢子虫的研究提供关键信息。
