Yeasts and filamentous fungi in psittacidae and birds of prey droppings in midwest region of Brazil: a potential hazard to human health

Abstract Birds of prey and from Psittacidae family are host to fungal microbiota and play an important role in the epidemiology of zoonoses. Few studies in the literature have characterized mycelial and yeast fungi in the droppings of these birds and correlated the isolates with the zoonotic potential of the microorganisms. Droppings from 149 birds were evaluated and divided into two groups: captive: Rhea americana araneipes, Primolius maracana, Ara ararauna, Ara chloropterus, Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, Amazona aestiva, Ara macao macao, Ramphastos toco, Sarcoramphus papa, Busarellus nigricollis, Bubo virginianus nacurutu, Buteogallus coronatus, Buteogallus urubitinga urubitinga, Spizaetus melanoleucus, Spizaetus ornatus ornatus, Buteo albonotatus, Geranoaetus albicaudatus albicaudatus, Rupornis magnirostris magnirostris and Harpia harpyja, and quarantined birds: Amazona aestiva and Eupsitulla aurea. The fungal isolates were identified according to macroscopic (gross colony appearance), micromorphological and biochemical characteristics. Among birds displayed in enclosures, Aspergillus niger (41.1%) and Candida kefyr (63.8%) were the fungi most frequently isolated in Harpia harpyja and Ramphastos toco, respectively. For quarantined birds, the following percentages were observed in Eupsittula aurea , (76.6%) C. krusei, (84.4%) C. kefyr and (15.2%) C. famata, while in Amazona aestiva, (76.2%) C. krusei was observed. These findings indicate potentially pathogenic species in the bird droppings assessed, which constitute a risk of exposure for keepers and individuals who visit the zoo. Birds of the Cerrado and Pantanal of Mato Grosso (Central Western region of Brazil) could act in the epidemiological chain of important zoonoses.

摘要 猛禽与鹦鹉科（Psittacidae）鸟类均为真菌菌群的天然宿主，并在人畜共患病的流行病学循环中发挥关键作用。目前学界鲜有研究针对此类鸟类粪便中的菌丝菌与酵母菌开展分类鉴定，并将分离菌株与对应微生物的人畜共患病潜力进行关联分析。本研究共采集149只鸟类的粪便样本并分为两组：圈养组涉及的鸟类包括：美洲鸵（Rhea americana araneipes）、蓝头金刚鹦鹉（Primolius maracana）、琉璃金刚鹦鹉（Ara ararauna）、绿翅金刚鹦鹉（Ara chloropterus）、紫蓝金刚鹦鹉（Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus）、蓝顶亚马逊鹦鹉（Amazona aestiva）、绯红金刚鹦鹉（Ara macao macao）、托哥巨嘴鸟（Ramphastos toco）、王鹫（Sarcoramphus papa）、黑胸鸣雕（Busarellus nigricollis）、美洲雕鸮（Bubo virginianus nacurutu）、冕雕（Buteogallus coronatus）、乌雕鸮（Buteogallus urubitinga urubitinga）、黑白鹰雕（Spizaetus melanoleucus）、饰冠鹰雕（Spizaetus ornatus ornatus）、白尾鹞（Buteo albonotatus）、白尾雕（Geranoaetus albicaudatus albicaudatus）、大嘴鵟（Rupornis magnirostris magnirostris）以及角雕（Harpia harpyja）；检疫组鸟类则包括：蓝顶亚马逊鹦鹉（Amazona aestiva）与金黄锥尾鹦鹉（Eupsitulla aurea）。研究人员通过宏观菌落形态（菌落表观特征）、微观形态学与生化特性对真菌分离株进行鉴定。在圈养展出鸟类的粪便样本中，从角雕粪便中分离率最高的真菌为黑曲霉（Aspergillus niger，占比41.1%），从托哥巨嘴鸟粪便中分离率最高的则为开菲尔假丝酵母（Candida kefyr，占比63.8%）。对于检疫组鸟类，在金黄锥尾鹦鹉的粪便样本中，克鲁斯假丝酵母（Candida krusei，76.6%）、开菲尔假丝酵母（Candida kefyr，84.4%）与法马假丝酵母（Candida famata，15.2%）的分离占比分别为上述数值；而在蓝顶亚马逊鹦鹉的粪便样本中，克鲁斯假丝酵母的分离占比为76.2%。本研究结果显示，所检测的鸟类粪便中存在具备潜在致病性的真菌物种，这对动物园饲养员与游客构成了接触感染风险。栖息于巴西中西部马托格罗索州塞拉多与潘塔纳尔湿地的此类鸟类，可能参与重要人畜共患病的流行病学传播链条。