Occurrence of endo and hemoparasites in Sporophila caerulescens captured in the eastern region of the state of Acre, Brazil

ABSTRACT: Wild animals are hosts and reservoirs to many infectious agents, often unknown to the Scientific Community, which leads to serious health implications for natural and domestic environments. We conducted this research with the objective of diagnosing the occurrence of parasites of medical and veterinary interest in “coleirinhos” captured in the eastern region of the state of Acre, Brazil. We captured the specimens in August and September of 2017 using ornithological nets at the margins of Caeté river. We visually inspected the birds to evaluate the ectoparasites. Subsequently, we collected blood through a brachial vein puncture and rested the individuals in a cloth bag for 30 minutes to collect feces, after which we released them. Results of the visual inspection to detect and identify the ectoparasites were negative. Blood samples revealed the protozoan Haemoproteus sp., and the feces revealed cysts of Entamoeba histolytica and E. coli, oocysts of coccidia and eggs of Davaineidae. Coccidia was the most prevalent (69.2%) and abundant (34.15%) parasite reported. Parasites diagnosed in this study can promote the emergence of secondary infections in S. caerulescens individuals or other animals that are contaminated with these etiological agents, since, when migrating through different biomes of South America, other animal species can come into contact with these agents.

摘要：野生动物是多种病原体的宿主与储存宿主，其中多数尚未为科学界所认知，这对自然与家养环境均会造成严重的健康隐患。本研究旨在检测巴西阿克雷州东部地区捕获的“科莱里尼奥鸟（coleirinhos）”体内医学与兽医学关注的寄生虫感染情况。研究于2017年8月至9月间，在卡埃蒂河（Caeté）河岸使用鸟类网捕获该类标本。研究人员先对鸟类进行肉眼检查以评估体外寄生虫感染情况，随后通过臂静脉穿刺采集血液样本，并将个体置于布袋中静置30分钟以收集粪便，完成后将其放归野外。体外寄生虫的肉眼检测与鉴定结果均为阴性。血液样本检出血变原虫属（Haemoproteus sp.）原生动物；粪便样本则检出溶组织内阿米巴（Entamoeba histolytica）与大肠埃希菌（E. coli）的包囊、球虫（coccidia）卵囊以及戴维绦虫科（Davaineidae）虫卵。球虫为本次研究中检出率最高（69.2%）且丰度最高（34.15%）的寄生虫。本研究检出的寄生虫可诱发科莱里尼奥鸟（S. caerulescens）个体或其他接触这些病原体的动物出现继发感染。鉴于这些病原可随宿主在南美不同生物群系间迁徙，其他动物物种亦可能接触到此类病原体。