A survey on gram-negative bacteria in saffron finches (Sicalis flaveola) from illegal wildlife trade in Brazil

Abstract

Passerines such as canaries or finches are the most unlawfully captured species that are sent to wildlife centers in São Paulo, Brazil. Captured birds may have infection by opportunistic bacteria in stressful situations. This fact becomes relevant when seized passerine are reintroduced. The aim of this study was to evaluate the health state of finches from illegal wildlife trade using microbiological approaches. Microbiological samples were collected by cloacal and tracheal swabs of 100 birds, captured during 2012 and 2013. The results indicate high frequency of gram-negative bacteria in feces and oropharynx, especially from the Enterobacteriaceae family (97.5%). The most frequent genera were Escherichia coli (46.5%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (10.4%). Enterobacter cloacae, Serratia liquefaciens, Serratia spp. Klebsiella oxytoca and Citrobacter freundii were isolated with lower frequency from asymptomatic birds. The presence of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and Shiga toxinproducing strain (STEC) confirm the zoonotic risks and public health concern.Keywords: Birds. Sicalis flaveola. Microbiology. Enterobacteria. Public health. ResumoNo Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, os pássaros como os canários-da-terra têm sido uma das espécies mais frequentemente resgatadas do tráfico ilegal e enviadas aos centros de vida selvagem. Em situações de estresse estas aves podem ser acometidas por infecções causadas por bactérias oportunistas. Este fato é de grande importância quando é planejada da reintrodução das aves na natureza. O presente trabalho foi delineado para avaliar o estado de saúde de canários-da-terra resgatados do tráfico ilegal. Foram colhidas soabes da traqueia e da cloaca de 100 aves resgatadas durante os anos de 2012 e 2013. Os resultados obtidos revelaram alta frequência de bactérias gram-negativas nas fezes e no orofaringe dos animais, com maior frequência para os membros da família Enterobacteriaceae (97,5%). Os gêneros mais frequentes foram Escherichia coli (46,55) e Klebsiella pneumoniae (10,4%). Outros microorganismos incluindo Enterobacter cloacae, Serratia liquefaciens, Serratia spp, Klebsiella oxytoca e Citrobacter freundii também foram isolados em menor frequencia de aves assintomáticas. A presença de estirpes de Escherichia coli enteropagênicas (EPEC) e as produtoras da toxina de Shiga confirmam o risco de zoonose e a importância para saúde pública deste tipo de ave. Palavras-chave:Aves. Sicalis flaveola. Microbiologia. Enterobactérias. Saúde pública. | 287Braz.

Detection of Enterobacteriaceae, antimicrobial susceptibility, and virulence genes of Escherichia coli in canaries (Serinus canaria) in northeastern Brazil

“…Serratia liquefaciens was the second most frequently isolated bacterium in this study. In the Passeriformes order, this bacterial species has previously been isolated from cloacal swabs of saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola) seized from illegal trade in the city of São Paulo, Brazil (Davies et al 2016). In a study addressing enterobacteria in cardinals (Paroaria dominicana and Paroaria coronata) seized from illegal trade in Sao Paulo, Cunha et al (2016) isolated this bacterial species from cloacal swabs.…”

Use of MALDI-TOF for identification and surveillance of gram-negative bacteria in captive wild psittacines

“…This study used matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), based on the protein profile of microorganisms, which is a distinctive and unique molecular fingerprint of a species (Kwak et al, 2015;Santos et al, 2015;Davies et al, 2016b;Stępień-Pyśniak et al, 2017;Davies et al, 2018). Here, MALDI-TOF MS was used as a rapid and accurate Vitek system) (EU 5.9-8.23), also the mean time required for MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry identification of 1 isolate was 6 min.…”

“…There are reports of infection by Acinetobacter spp. associated with mycobacteriosis in falcons (Muller et al, 2010), asymptomatic saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola) seized from illegal wildlife trade (Davies et al, 2016b), in captive grey parrot (Klotz et al, 2018), and in canaries infected by Macrorhabdus ornithogaster (Robino et al, 2019).…”

“…are frequently associated with aquatic environments and may lead gastroenteritis and septicemia in humans, after immunosuppression (Panigrahy et al, 1981). It has been described in wild waterfowl birds that can act as carriers of pathogenic Aeromonas species in their intestines (Laviad-Shitrit et al, 2018), in ostriches (Struthio camelus) (França et al, 2009), and asymptomatic saffron finches (Sicalis flaveola) seized from illegal wildlife trade (Davies et al, 2016b).…”

“…The MALDI-TOF MS system is used successfully for precise identification of bacteria isolated from various types of specimens (Stępień-Pyśniak et al, 2017;Davies et al, 2016b;Cabral et al, 2020). Therefore, species identification would improve timeliness and reduce isolate identification costs in clinical bacteriology laboratories (Cherkaoui et al, 2010).…”