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。目前学术文献中鲜有研究针对上述鸟类粪便中的菌丝真菌与酵母菌开展分类鉴定，并将分离得到的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：圈养组涵盖的鸟类包括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以及Harpia harpyja；检疫组则包含Amazona aestiva与Eupsitulla aurea。真菌分离株的鉴定依据为菌落宏观形态（即菌落直观外观）、微观形态及生化特征。在圈养展出的鸟类中，分别从Harpia harpyja（角雕）与Ramphastos toco（巨嘴鵎鵼）中分离得到的最常见真菌分别为黑曲霉（Aspergillus niger，占比41.1%）与克菲假丝酵母（Candida kefyr，占比63.8%）。针对检疫组鸟类，在Eupsitulla aurea体内分别检出克氏假丝酵母（Candida krusei，76.6%）、克菲假丝酵母（Candida kefyr，84.4%）与法马假丝酵母（Candida famata，15.2%）；而在Amazona aestiva体内则检出76.2%的克氏假丝酵母。上述研究结果表明，本次检测的鸟类粪便中存在潜在致病性真菌类群，对饲养人员及动物园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的塞拉多与潘塔纳尔湿地的此类鸟类，可能在重要人畜共患病的流行病学传播链中充当载体。