Adcock Kayla G, Weyna Alisia A W, Yabsley Michael J, Bäck Rowan E, Garrett Kayla Buck, Niedringhaus Kevin D, Kunkel Melanie R, Fenton Heather M A, Keel M Kevin, Bahnson Charlie S, Elsmo Elizabeth, Nemeth Nicole M
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, 589 D. W. Brooks Drive, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, 180 E. Green Street, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
J Wildl Dis. 2025 Jan 1;61(1):131-147. doi: 10.7589/JWD-D-24-00050.
The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is a geographically widespread, popular game bird and conservation icon in North America. Following successful reestablishment in parts of the US and Canada, regional declines have fueled population health concerns; therefore, understanding mortality causes and spatiotemporal patterns of disease is important to uncover potential ongoing and future health risks. Histomonosis, caused by the trichomonad Histomonas meleagridis, is a well-established and potentially fatal disease in Wild Turkeys; however, its prevalence and potential population health impacts remain poorly understood. Moreover, molecular tools recently have allowed for the detection of additional trichomonads that similarly can cause fatal disease in Wild Turkeys. We describe and compare disease due to H. meleagridis with that of Tetratrichomonas gallinarum, Tritrichomonas sp., and Simplicimonas sp. in Wild Turkeys in the southeastern US. Among 857 Wild Turkeys evaluated postmortem from 2002 to 2023, 34 (4.0%) were diagnosed with trichomonad disease, often assumed to be histomonosis prior to molecular testing. However, among 25 debilitating to fatal trichomonad disease cases for which etiologies were confirmed by PCR from 2015 to 2023, H. meleagridis was detected in 16/25 (64.0%), T. gallinarum in 6/25 (24.0%), Tritrichomonas sp. in 2/25 (8.0%) and Simplicimonas sp. in 1/25 (4.0%). These turkeys had similar clinical manifestations, and although lesion patterns varied to some extent, liver and/or intestinal tract was most commonly affected. Coinfections were common among all turkeys with trichomonad disease from 2015 to 2023 (21/25, 84.0%) and included viruses (lymphoproliferative disease virus, avian poxvirus), bacteria (Streptococcus gallolyticus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli), and other protozoa (Sarcocystis sp., Haemoproteus sp.). Our results highlight the importance of molecular diagnostic testing in determining etiologies of trichomonad disease in Wild Turkeys. Further evaluation of the epidemiology and pathogenesis of trichomonad disease and its varied etiologies in Wild Turkeys and other birds is warranted to better understand risk factors and potential health impacts.
野生火鸡（Meleagris gallopavo）是一种在北美地理分布广泛、受欢迎的猎禽和保护象征。在美国和加拿大部分地区成功重新建立种群后，区域数量下降引发了对种群健康的担忧；因此，了解死亡原因和疾病的时空模式对于发现潜在的当前和未来健康风险很重要。由毛滴虫组织滴虫（Histomonas meleagridis）引起的组织滴虫病是野生火鸡中一种既定的、可能致命的疾病；然而，其流行程度和对种群健康的潜在影响仍知之甚少。此外，分子工具最近已能够检测出其他同样可导致野生火鸡致命疾病的毛滴虫。我们描述并比较了美国东南部野生火鸡中由组织滴虫引起的疾病与鸡四毛滴虫（Tetratrichomonas gallinarum）、三毛滴虫属（Tritrichomonas sp.）和简单滴虫属（Simplicimonas sp.）引起的疾病。在2002年至2023年期间进行尸检评估的857只野生火鸡中，34只（4.0%）被诊断患有毛滴虫病，在分子检测之前通常被认为是组织滴虫病。然而，在2015年至2023年通过PCR确诊病因的25例导致衰弱至致命的毛滴虫病病例中，16/25（64.0%）检测到组织滴虫，6/25（24.0%）检测到鸡四毛滴虫，2/25（8.0%）检测到三毛滴虫属，1/25（4.0%）检测到简单滴虫属。这些火鸡有相似的临床表现，尽管病变模式在一定程度上有所不同，但肝脏和/或肠道最常受到影响。2015年至2023年期间，所有患有毛滴虫病的火鸡中合并感染很常见（21/25，84.0%），包括病毒（淋巴增生性疾病病毒、禽痘病毒）、细菌（解脲链球菌、单核细胞增生李斯特菌、大肠杆菌）和其他原生动物（肉孢子虫属、血变形虫属）。我们的结果强调了分子诊断检测在确定野生火鸡毛滴虫病病因方面的重要性。有必要进一步评估野生火鸡和其他鸟类中毛滴虫病及其多种病因的流行病学和发病机制以更好地了解风险因素和潜在的健康影响。
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