ABSTRACT
The growing interest in wild birds as pets and the increasingly complex interspecific relationships due to human activities in wild environments underscore the need for better knowledge about the health of these animals. Salmonella stands out among the infectious agents of considerable importance to both animal and human health. The importance of these enterobacteria to the health of humans and livestock animals has long been known. In wild birds in countries such as Brazil, however, little is known regarding the frequency of infection and the main serotypes of occurrence. In the present study, the frequency of infection and the main serotypes of Salmonella spp. were investigated in 258 birds at a wild animal rehabilitation center using conventional microbiological methods and molecular diagnostic techniques. Four birds infected with Salmonella enterica were identified using PCR. The birds were of the species Brotogeris chiriri, Ara ararauna, and Eupsittula aurea. Sequencing of DNA revealed identity with the Javiana, Newport, and Arizonae serotypes. These results are of considerable importance to the implementation of management and control measures directed at human and animal health.
Subject(s)
Bird Diseases/microbiology , Parrots , Salmonella Infections, Animal/microbiology , Salmonella/isolation & purification , Animals , Animals, Wild , Bird Diseases/epidemiology , Brazil/epidemiology , Salmonella Infections, Animal/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Theileria equi is a tick-borne piroplasm considered endemic in equines in Brazil. The cohabitation of domestic and wild animals in areas of extensive cattle breeding favors the close contact between different species and the sharing of vectors and, consequently, pathogens. We report the natural infection of a young South American tapir ( Tapirus terrestris ) by T. equi in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Although it was not possible to associate the clinical and hematologic status of the animal with the infection by the protozoan parasite, our report represents an alert on the sharing of pathogens between domestic and wild animals.
