Hemoparasites occurrence in healthy African Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus) in mainland Portugal

Resumo

Objectives: Since there is a lack of knowledge on the infection by Haemoproteus, Plasmodium and Leucocytozoon not only in Psittacus erithacus but also in Psittacidae family, the main objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of these heamosporidians in healthy Psittacus erithacus in mainland Portugal.

Materials and Methods: A total of 70 blood samples were taken from asymptomatic Psittacus erithacus kept in several private collections from mainland Portugal.

Results: The presence of hemoparasites was assessed by microscopic observation of blood smears. The detection of Haemoproteus spp. and Plasmodium spp. infection was possible in 8 out of 70 individuals accounting for a prevalence of infection of 11.43%. Leucocytozoon spp. was not detected in any of the smears.

Conclusions: Detection of Haemoproteus spp. and Plasmodium spp. infection is more common than Leucozytozoon spp. infection. This difference is not because Leucocytozoon spp. infection is rare, but due to the life cycle of this parasite that is detected in peripheral blood only for short periods of time. Given the lack of data on hemosporidian distribution in Portugal, namely in Psittacidae species, this work represents an important contribution to a better understanding of the epidemiological impact of the infection in captive fauna of Psittacus erithacus. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first surveillance study of haemosporidia in this species in Portugal.

Keywords: Haemosporidian; Haemoproteus spp.; Plasmodium spp.; Leucozytozoon spp.; Psittacus erithacus.