Taylor Harry S, Foxwell Jonathan, Jauregui Ruy, Webster Trudi, Eames Mark, Bennett Peter, Schultz Hendrik, Watts Jim, Argilla Lisa, McInnes Kate, O'Connell John, Hunter Stuart
Diagnostics, Readiness and Surveillance Services, Biosecurity New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries, 66 Ward Street, Upper Hutt, 5140, New Zealand.
Animal Health Laboratory, Diagnostics, Readiness and Surveillance Services, Ministry for Primary Industries, 66 Ward Street, Upper Hutt, 5140, New Zealand.
J Wildl Dis. 2025 Jul 1;61(3):736-742. doi: 10.7589/JWD-D-24-00174.
Yellow-eyed Penguins (Megadyptes antipodes; hoiho) are a unique, nationally endangered, and declining species endemic to New Zealand. Between 28 April 2023 and 28 February 2024, histopathologic examination found that six Yellow-eyed Penguins died from septicemia. A Pasteurella sp. was cultured from all six cases and confirmed as Pasteurella multocida in three cases by either MALDI-TOF (n=2) or genome sequencing (n=1). One isolate was confirmed as P. multocida type A:L3 by molecular techniques and genome sequencing. Pasteurella multocida is the causative agent of avian cholera; thus, finding P. multocida confirmed avian cholera as the cause of these deaths. A source for the bacterial infections could not be identified in these cases. Although avian cholera has been previously reported in other penguin species, to our knowledge, these are the first reported cases of P. multocida in Yellow-eyed Penguins. Yellow-eyed Penguins do not nest in dense colonies, and direct contact between birds outside of breeding pairs is irregular, making this case series an unusual presentation for avian cholera. The loss of six individuals, including three of breeding age, will have a significant impact on the mainland Yellow-eyed Penguin population, and the potential for further losses to avian cholera cannot be discounted. This case series illustrates the benefits of multiagency collaboration in monitoring for, and investigation of, potentially new and emerging diseases in threatened species.
黄眼企鹅（Megadyptes antipodes；毛利语为hoiho）是新西兰特有的一种独特的、国家濒危且数量正在减少的物种。在2023年4月28日至2024年2月28日期间，组织病理学检查发现6只黄眼企鹅死于败血症。从所有6个病例中培养出了巴氏杆菌属细菌，其中3例通过基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱（n = 2）或基因组测序（n = 1）确认为多杀性巴氏杆菌。通过分子技术和基因组测序，其中一个分离株被确认为A:L3型多杀性巴氏杆菌。多杀性巴氏杆菌是禽霍乱的病原体；因此，发现多杀性巴氏杆菌证实了禽霍乱是这些死亡的原因。在这些病例中无法确定细菌感染的来源。尽管此前在其他企鹅物种中曾报告过禽霍乱，但据我们所知，这些是首次报告的黄眼企鹅感染多杀性巴氏杆菌的病例。黄眼企鹅不会在密集的群体中筑巢，除繁殖对之外的鸟类之间的直接接触也不规律，这使得该病例系列成为禽霍乱的一种不寻常表现形式。6只企鹅死亡，其中包括3只处于繁殖年龄的企鹅，这将对大陆黄眼企鹅种群产生重大影响，而且禽霍乱导致进一步损失的可能性也不能忽视。该病例系列说明了多机构合作在监测和调查受威胁物种中潜在的新出现疾病方面的益处。
