Allievi Carolina, Zanzani Sergio A, Bottura Fulvio, Manfredi Maria Teresa
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Via Dell' Università 6, 26900 Lodi, Italy.
Research Laboratory of Animal Parasitic Diseases and Zoonoses (ParVetLab), Università Degli Studi di Milano, Via Dell' Università 6, 26900 Lodi, Italy.
Animals (Basel). 2024 Dec 11;14(24):3579. doi: 10.3390/ani14243579.
Birds of prey can be parasitised by several endoparasites that can coexist without clinical signs of disease or occur in conjunction with stressful events. Because the number of birds of prey kept in captivity is copiously increasing due to their use for bird control, breeding programs, exhibition and falconry, the main endoparasites of 81 apparently healthy captive birds of prey from northern Italy were investigated by examining faecal and blood samples. Faeces were analysed by a quali-quantitative technique, i.e., the FLOTAC basic technique, employing potassium iodomercurate flotation solution, while blood smears were stained to detect haemoparasites. Risk factors were further assessed. Considering gastrointestinal parasites, an overall prevalence of 41.7% was recorded, and 50% of Accipitriformes, 43% of Falconiformes and 33.3% of Strigiformes tested positive for at least one parasite taxon. Moreover, age and diet were associated with an increased risk of infection. As for haemoparasites, a prevalence of 18.2% was evidenced, and none of the risk factors were associated with prevalence. The results of this study highlighted the importance of monitoring the endoparasites of captive birds of prey with a highly sensitive copromicroscopic technique to target medical treatments, improve housing conditions and conduct epidemiological studies aimed at wildlife conservation and management.
猛禽可能会被几种体内寄生虫寄生，这些寄生虫可以在没有疾病临床症状的情况下共存，或者与应激事件同时发生。由于用于鸟类控制、繁殖计划、展览和鹰猎，圈养猛禽的数量正在大量增加，因此通过检查粪便和血液样本，对来自意大利北部的81只看似健康的圈养猛禽的主要体内寄生虫进行了调查。粪便采用定性定量技术进行分析，即使用碘化汞钾浮选溶液的FLOTAC基本技术，而血液涂片则进行染色以检测血液寄生虫。进一步评估了风险因素。就胃肠道寄生虫而言，总体患病率为41.7%，50%的鹰形目、43%的隼形目和33.3%的鸮形目至少对一种寄生虫分类呈阳性。此外，年龄和饮食与感染风险增加有关。至于血液寄生虫，患病率为18.2%，且没有任何风险因素与患病率相关。本研究结果强调了用高度敏感的粪便显微镜检查技术监测圈养猛禽体内寄生虫的重要性，以便进行针对性治疗、改善饲养条件，并开展旨在野生动物保护和管理的流行病学研究。
