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Endemic infection of the common mynah Acridotheres tristis with Trichomonas gallinae the agent of avian trichomonosis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2018

Hassan Ali Farooq ,
Hammad Ahmad Khan ,
Abdulwahed Fahad Alrefaei  and
Kevin Morris Tyler Open the ORCID record for Kevin Morris Tyler [Opens in a new window]
Hassan Ali Farooq
Affiliation:
Departments of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Hammad Ahmad Khan*
Affiliation:
Departments of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Abdulwahed Fahad Alrefaei
Affiliation:
University of East Anglia, School of Biological Sciences, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK Department of Zoology, King Saud University, College of Science, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh-11451, Saudi Arabia
Kevin Morris Tyler
Affiliation:
University of East Anglia, Norwich Medical School, Biomedical Research Centre, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, UK
*
Author for correspondence: Hammad Ahmad Khan, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Avian trichomonosis is an architypal disease of wild columbids and those birds that predate them. Increasingly though, it has been reported in passerines; a recent and ongoing epidemic in the chaffinches and greenfinches of Europe and outbreaks amongst house finches, American goldfinches and purple finches in North America. The parasite, Trichomonas gallinae, causes lesions in the upper respiratory tract which can cause mortality associated with dehydration and emaciation. This paper reports for the first time, the widespread, endemic and often asymptomatic infection of common mynah (Acridotheres tristis) around the Faisalabad District, Pakistan. Parasite typing was used to investigate the potential for transmission among the frequently sympatric species. Type C parasites were found in mynah, and while this is analagous to the pandemic finch strain which is Type A, it is the first known example of passerine infections of this parasite genotype. Subtype analysis showed the strain to be C4 a subtype which has a widespread distribution in columbids.

Keywords

ColumbidFe-hydrogenaseITS1/5.8S/ITS2mynahpasserinesturnidaesubtypingTrichomonas gallinaeTrichomoniasisTrichomonosis
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 145 , Issue 12 , October 2018 , pp. 1548 - 1552
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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