Veterinary Department, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), Edinburgh Zoo, Edinburgh, EH12 6TS, United Kingdom,
Veterinary Department, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), Edinburgh Zoo, Edinburgh, EH12 6TS, United Kingdom.
J Zoo Wildl Med. 2023 Jul;54(2):360-366. doi: 10.1638/2021-0158.
Aspergillosis is the primary fungal disease affecting captive penguins globally. Its diagnosis remains challenging, and currently no tests are both sensitive and specific for the detection of early infection. The present study evaluated a recently developed lateral-flow device (AspLFD) for the detection of spp. antigen in plasma and glottis mucus from captive penguins. In a pilot retrospective study, banked frozen plasma samples from captive penguins were reviewed: samples from 11 gentoo penguins () and 4 king penguins () fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were used in the analysis. Positive plasma AspLFD test results were found in 80% (four of five) of the aspergillosis-positive cases tested. All of the aspergillosis-negative cases tested negative (10 of 10) on the AspLFD test. In a cohort prospective study, paired plasma and glottis swab samples were opportunistically and nonrandomly collected from captive gentoo penguins. In total, 26 penguins were tested. In the negative control group, AspLFD test was negative on plasma and swab in 100% of birds (14 of 14). In the aspergillosis-positive group, AspLFD test was positive on plasma samples from 33% (4 of 12) of birds, on swab samples from 50% (6 of 12) of birds, and on either plasma or swab samples from 75% (9 of 12) of birds. The AspLFD is currently used for the diagnosis of aspergillosis in humans and also shows promise for use in penguins. Larger prospective studies are recommended.
曲霉菌病是影响全球圈养企鹅的主要真菌病。其诊断仍然具有挑战性，目前尚无既敏感又特异的检测方法用于早期感染的检测。本研究评估了一种新开发的侧向流动设备（AspLFD）在检测圈养企鹅血浆和喉头黏液中 spp. 抗原的性能。在一项回顾性的初步研究中，对圈养企鹅的冷冻血浆样本进行了回顾性评估：来自 11 只阿德雷企鹅（）和 4 只王企鹅（）的样本符合纳入标准并用于分析。在检测的 5 例曲霉菌病阳性病例中，有 80%（4 例）的血浆 AspLFD 检测结果呈阳性。在检测的 10 例曲霉菌病阴性病例中，所有病例的 AspLFD 检测结果均为阴性（10 例均为阴性）。在一项前瞻性队列研究中，从圈养的阿德雷企鹅中随机采集了配对的血浆和喉头拭子样本。共有 26 只企鹅接受了检测。在阴性对照组中，AspLFD 检测在 100%的鸟类（14 例中有 14 例）的血浆和拭子中均为阴性。在曲霉菌病阳性组中，AspLFD 检测在 33%的鸟类（12 例中有 4 例）的血浆样本中呈阳性，在 50%的鸟类（12 例中有 6 例）的拭子样本中呈阳性，在 75%的鸟类（12 例中有 9 例）的血浆或拭子样本中呈阳性。AspLFD 目前用于人类曲霉菌病的诊断，在企鹅中也显示出应用的潜力。建议进行更大规模的前瞻性研究。
