Comparing the Mini-FLOTAC and centrifugal faecal flotation for the detection of coccidia (Eimeria spp.) in kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)

Coker, Sarah M.; Pomroy, W.E.; Howe, Laryssa; McInnes, Kate; Vallée, Emilie; Morgan, Kerri

doi:10.1007/s00436-020-06912-z

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Both facilities are a part of the Operation Nest Egg (ONE), a program in which kiwi eggs laid in the wild are transported to a hatchery and reared in a captive environment. Coccidiosis information was only available for the captive samples, where diagnosis is determined using a fecal flotation assay [33]. Kiwi were housed in brooder boxes wooden boxes with soil, food, and water.…”

Section: Study System Captivementioning

confidence: 99%

Captivity reduces diversity and shifts composition of the Brown Kiwi microbiome

2021

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Background Captive rearing is often critical for animals that are vulnerable to extinction in the wild. However, few studies have investigated the extent to which captivity impacts hosts and their gut microbiota, despite mounting evidence indicating that host health is affected by gut microbes. We assessed the influence of captivity on the gut microbiome of the Brown Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli), a flightless bird endemic to New Zealand. We collected wild (n = 68) and captive (n = 38) kiwi feces at seven sites on the north island of New Zealand. Results Using bacterial 16 S rRNA and fungal ITS gene profiling, we found that captivity was a significant predictor of the kiwi gut bacterial and fungal communities. Captive samples had lower microbial diversity and different composition when compared to wild samples. History of coccidiosis, a gut parasite primarily affecting captive kiwi, showed a marginally significant effect. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate captivity’s potential to shape the Brown Kiwi gut microbiome, that warrant further investigation to elucidate the effects of these differences on health.

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Section: Study System Captivementioning

confidence: 99%

Captivity reduces diversity and shifts composition of the Brown Kiwi microbiome

2021

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“…Despite the constant annual increment in studies involving the use of MF in several animal species, its implementation in epidemiological studies in birds has been extremely scarce thus far, and there is a lack of consensus regarding the optimal protocol for the diagnosis of coccidia and helminth infections in these hosts. However, recent studies with MF in birds have demonstrated its potential in the diagnosis of common avian coccidia and nematodes, with some achieving sensitivities of up to 100% [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of Mini-FLOTAC in Routine Diagnosis of Coccidia and Helminth Infections in Domestic and Exotic Birds

Lozano

Almeida²,

Victório

et al. 2021

Veterinary Sciences

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Mini-FLOTAC (MF) has recently been proposed for the fecal quantification of gastrointestinal (GI) parasites in birds due to its higher sensitivity and precision in comparison with the McMaster method. The current research aimed to test the use of MF in routine diagnosis of coccidia and helminth infections in several domestic and exotic bird collections in Portugal. Between July 2020 and April 2021, a total of 142 fecal samples from organic layers, peacocks and ratites were collected in four Portuguese bird collections and processed using MF and fecal cultures to identify and calculate GI parasite shedding and prevalence. The McMaster method was also used to compare the shedding levels obtained for both quantitative techniques. MF’s relative sensitivity and specificity were also assessed, using McMaster as the reference technique. The implementation of MF resulted in an average Eimeria spp. shedding higher in peacocks from bird collection 2 (502 OPG), followed by peacocks from collection 1 (107 OPG) and organic layers (24 OPG) and peacocks from collection 3 (9 OPG). Peacocks were also positive for Capillaria spp., Trichostrongylus tenuis and Strongyloides pavonis, whereas ostriches and emus were infected by L. douglassii. The MF protocol for exotic animals and the McMaster method did not differ significantly for each parasitic agent and bird species, and MF achieved relative sensitivities and specificities higher than 70% for Galliform Eimeria spp., peacock helminths and ratites’ L. douglassii infections. Higher L. douglassii EPG values were identified using the MF protocol for exotic species (2 g of feces/38 mL of sucrose solution), followed by McMaster 2/28, MF 5/45 and MF 2/18. The use of MF allowed for obtaining different intestinal parasitic populations in several bird species and locations, and MF 2/38 is globally proposed as the most suitable protocol for bird fecal samples as an alternative to the McMaster method in the diagnosis of avian intestinal parasitic infections.

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“…In wildlife parasite identi cation is mostly performed by post-mortem examination of hosts (e.g., lethal sampling), which involves highly trained professionals but also ethical limitations (Budischak et al 2015). As a non-invasive alternative, fecal egg counting techniques are used for the detection of gastrointestinal (GI) parasites, although mainly for qualitative diagnostic purposes, and more recently also for quanti cation of infection intensities (Coker et al 2020). Among the quantitative methods, the Mini-FLOTAC is a novel and sensitive otation-based technique for the detection and quanti cation of parasitic elements (PE) from GI helminths (i.e., eggs or larvae of nematodes, cestodes, and trematodes) and protozoa (i.e., cysts and oocysts) (Barda et al 2013;Cringoli et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of the Mini-FLOTAC for detection of GI parasites has been validated in several domestic and wild mammals, demonstrating higher diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy than commonly used copromicroscopic methods such as the McMaster method (Cringoli et al 2017;Catalano et al 2019). In birds, this new technique has been modi ed and applied for quantitative parasite diagnosis in domestic species and wild-caught individuals (Borrelli et al 2015;Bortoluzzi et al 2018;Carrera-Játiva et al 2018;Daş et al 2020), and has only recently been explored for the diagnosis of coccidia and helminths in wild birds (Carrera-Játiva et al 2018;Coker et al 2020). However, there are still some methodological gaps in the use of the Mini-FLOTAC that are needed to improve the detection of parasites in wildlife species, particularly for the use in wild birds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…in caged songbirds (O.Passeriformes) using ZnSO 4 solution (Borrelli et al 2015), Eimeria maxima oocysts in poultry excreta using sodium nitrate (s.g. 1.20) (Bortoluzzi et al 2018), and oocysts of coccidia (Eimeria spp.) in Brown Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) with magnesium sulfate (s.g. 1.28) (Coker et al 2020). Recently, Daş et al (2020) reported that sucrose solution (s.g. 1.32) increases the accuracy of the Mini-FLOTAC technique in comparison with NaCl (s.g. 1.20) for the detection of Ascaridia galli and Heterakis gallinarum eggs in feces of poultry chickens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Improving the sensitivity of gastrointestinal helminth detection using the Mini-FLOTAC technique in wild birds

et al. 2021

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High-performance validated tests are essential for successful epidemiological monitoring, surveillance of parasitic infections, and comparative studies in wildlife populations. The Mini-FLOTAC is a novel otationbased technique for the sensitive detection and quanti cation of gastrointestinal parasites that is recently being explored for use in wildlife. A limitation of any otation-based copromicroscopic method is the selection of the otation solution (FS), which might in uence the performance of the test. However, no study has compared the in uence of using different FS in the Mini-FLOTAC technique for parasite detection in wild birds. Here, we evaluated the diagnostic performance of the Mini-FLOTAC in three waterbird host species using two widely used FS: saturated salt (NaCl; speci c gravity 1.20) and saturated zinc sulfate (ZnSO 4 ; speci c gravity 1.35). One hundred fresh fecal samples were analyzed for parasite fecal egg counts (FEC). Regardless of the host species, fecal samples evaluated with the Mini-FLOTAC method using ZnSO 4 resulted in a signi cantly higher detection rate and higher FEC of strongylid, capillarid, cestode, and trematode parasites, than samples analyzed with the NaCl solution. Our concise study demonstrated the importance of using an appropriate FS for the identi cation of parasite eggs in wildlife species, especially in hosts with an expected aggregated distribution and low parasite load such as waterbird hosts. The higher analytical sensitivity of the Mini-FLOTAC technique achieved with ZnSO 4 , and its applicability to eldwork, highlights this method as a promising tool for the quantitative surveillance of parasite infections in wild bird populations.

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Comparing the Mini-FLOTAC and centrifugal faecal flotation for the detection of coccidia (Eimeria spp.) in kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)

Cited by 8 publications

References 9 publications

Captivity reduces diversity and shifts composition of the Brown Kiwi microbiome

Captivity reduces diversity and shifts composition of the Brown Kiwi microbiome

Implementation of Mini-FLOTAC in Routine Diagnosis of Coccidia and Helminth Infections in Domestic and Exotic Birds

Improving the sensitivity of gastrointestinal helminth detection using the Mini-FLOTAC technique in wild birds

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