Plasmodium matutinum Causing Avian Malaria in Lovebirds (Agapornis roseicollis) Hosted in an Italian Zoo

Abstract

Avian malaria is a worldwide distributed, vector-born disease of birds caused by parasites of the order Haemosporida. There is a lack of knowledge about the presence and pathogenetic role of Haemosporida in Psittacidae. Here we report a case of avian malaria infection in lovebirds (Agapornis roseicollis), with the genetic characterization of the Plasmodium species involved. The birds were hosted in a zoo located in Italy, where avian malaria cases in African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) were already reported. Animals (n = 11) were submitted for necropsy after sudden death and were subjected to further analyses including histopathology, bacteriology, and PCR for the research of haemosporidians. Clinical history, gross lesions and histopathological observation of schizonts, together with positive PCR results for Plasmodium spp., demonstrated that avian malaria was the cause of death for one animal and the possible cause of death for the other nine. The sequences obtained were compared using BLAST and analyzed for similarity to sequences available at the MalAvi database. Genetic analyses demonstrated a 100% nucleotide identity to Plasmodium matutinum LINN1 for all the obtained sequences. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing avian malaria in lovebirds.

Parasitological and histopathological examination of Cocktail lovebirds infected with Eimeria aratinga (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae)

“…Several pieces of literature denoted the parasitic infection in pet birds and another investigation determines the coccidian intestinal parasites' high risk of infection in professional workers, for example, veterinarians' biologists, workers, tradesmen, and farm owners ( Krone and Cooper, 2002 ). A first point to note is that our study confirms the findings of other studies that show coccidiosis is one of the most frequently reported diseases of birds worldwide ( Cocumelli et al., 2021 ). This protozoan disease is responsible for significant worldwide economic losses to the poultry industry, with an estimated world annual loss of more than 3 billion USD ( Dkhil, 2013 ).…”

“…Birds are an integral part of virtually every ecosystem, and it is not surprising that they are commonly found in households and zoos worldwide ( Attia and Salem, 2022 ; Cocumelli et al, 2021 ). Many serious pathogens can infect avian spp., including bacteria ( Abd El Hamid et al, 2019 ; Marouf et al, 2020 , Marouf et al., 2022 ), viruses ( Setta et al, 2018 ), parasites, and fungi, as well as environmental and management stressors, revealing in severe economic losses ( Abd El-Hack et al, 2021a , b ; 2022b ).…”

Exo-erythrocytic development of Plasmodium matutinum (lineage pLINN1) in a naturally infected roadkill fieldfare Turdus pilaris

“…Plasmodium matutinum (pLINN1) lineage is common in wild birds in Austria [ 4 , 13 ] and pathogenic for local endemic birds in New Zealand [ 12 , 52 ], where it was probably introduced together with their Turdus host species. The same lineage was recently reported to cause lethal malaria in captive African penguins Spheniscus demersus and Lovebirds Agapornis roseicolli in Italy [ 37 , 53 ], and Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica in Switzerland [ 54 ]. These and other exotic to Europe bird species likely are non-adapted to pLINN1 infection.…”

Parasite-associated mortality in birds: the roles of specialist parasites and host evolutionary distance

“…[53]Espirito Santo, Brazil1 Puffinus puffinus rehabilitation centreCocumelli et al . [54]Central Italy2 Agapornis roseicollis zooMeister et al . [55]Berne Animal Park, Switzerland4 Fratercula arctica zooThorel et al .…”