An outbreak of fatal Pullorum disease (Salmonella Pullorum) in Guinea fowl keets (Numida meleagris) / Surto fatal de pulorose (Salmonella Pullorum) em pintinhos de galinhas-d'Angola (Numida meleagris)

Pullorum disease is described worldwide and is caused by Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Gallinarum biovar Pullorum (S. Pullorum). S. Pullorum infection is important in commercial poultry, provoking a systemic disease with high mortality rates. Its occurrence requires notification, and when it is diagnosed in commercial breeding flocks, its eradication is demanded. The aim of this study was to report a severe outbreak of Pullorum disease in young Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris), resulting in 100% mortality of keets (n=290) within the first two weeks of age. All examined keets had enlarged liver, kidneys and spleen (5/5), and the affected tissues were submitted to histological and bacteriological examination. On histopathology, random paratyphoid nodules characterized by areas of necrosis with fibrin and a moderate infiltrate of macrophages and heterophils were observed in the liver. In kidneys, discrete areas of necrosis associated with moderate multifocal infiltrates of lymphocytes, and plasma cells were observed. In the spleen, a moderate infiltrate of macrophages was noticed. Isolation of colonies suggestive of S. Pullorum from liver and spleen was performed in selective agars and, after biochemical tests, confirmed by specific duplex-PCR. The antimicrobial susceptibility test of the isolated strain revealed resistance to only sulfamethoxazole + trimethoprim among the tested antimicrobials. The S. Pullorum isolate recovered in the present study was highly pathogenic to N. meleagris and may represent a risk to other avian species, including industrial poultry.

A pulorose é descrita mundialmente e é causada por Salmonella enterica subespécie enterica sorovar Gallinarum biovar Pullorum (S. Pullorum). A infecção por S. Pullorum é importante em aves comerciais, provocando doença sistêmica com altas taxas de mortalidade. Sua ocorrência requer notificação e quando diagnosticada em aves de criação comercial resulta na erradicação do plantel. O objetivo deste estudo foi relatar um surto grave de pulorose em filhotes de galinhas-d'Angola (Numida meleagris), resultando em 100% de mortalidade das aves (n=290) nas primeiras duas semanas de idade. Os pintinhos recebidos tinham hepato, espleno e nefromegalia (5/5). Os tecidos dos cinco indivíduos recebidos foram submetidos a exame histológico e bacteriológico. Na histopatologia, foram observados nódulos paratifoides aleatórios caracterizados por áreas de necrose com fibrina e infiltrado moderado de macrófagos e heterófilos no fígado. Nos rins, foram observadas áreas discretas de necrose associadas a infiltrados multifocais moderados de linfócitos e plasmócitos. No baço, foi observado infiltrado moderado de macrófagos. O isolamento de colônias sugestivas de S. Pullorum de fígados e baços foi realizado em ágares seletivos e, após testes bioquímicos, confirmado por duplex-PCR específico. A susceptibilidade antimicrobiana da cepa isolada revelou resistência apenas ao sulfametoxazol + trimetoprim entre os antimicrobianos testados. O isolado de S. Pullorum recuperado no presente estudo foi altamente patogênico para N. meleagris e pode representar um risco para outras espécies de aves, incluindo aves industriais.

Phylogeny and Life Cycles of the Archiacanthocephala with a Note on the Validity of Mediorhynchus gallinarum.

PURPOSE: The molecular profile of specimens of Mediorhynchus gallinarum (Bhalero, 1937) collected from chickens, Gallus gallus L. in Indonesia was analysed. The aim of this study was to assess the phylogenetic position of species of Mediorhynchus within the order Giganthorhynchida. METHODS: We used one mitochondrial gene (cytochrome oxidase 1) and one nuclear gene (18S ribosomal RNA) to infer phylogenetic relationships of class Archiacanthocephala. RESULTS: The COI and 18S rDNA genes sequences showed that M. gallinarum had low genetic variation and that this species is sister to Mediorhynchus africanus Amin, Evans, Heckmann, El-Naggar, 2013. The phylogenetic relationships of the Class Archiacanthocephala showed that it is not resolved but, however, were mostly congruent using both genes. A review of host-parasite life cycles and geographic distributions of Archiacanthocephala indicates that mainly small mammals and birds are definitive hosts, while termites, cockroaches, and millipedes are intermediate hosts. CONCLUSIONS: While the intermediate hosts have wide geographic distributions, the narrow distribution of the definitive hosts limit the access of archiacanthocephalans to a wider range of prospective hosts. Additional analyses, to increase taxonomic and character sampling will improve the development of a robust phylogeny and provide more stable classification. The results presented here contribute to better understanding of the ecological and evolutionary relationships that allow the host-parasite co-existence within the class Archiacanthocephala.

Detection of Genetic Relationship in the Tree of Life of Some Quail Through Molecular Markers Analyses

ABSTRACT Quail is an important and interesting group of galliform birds. The Common quail (Coturnix coturnix); the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica); the Panda quail (Coturnix japonica); the Dotted white quail (Coturnix japonica) and the Bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) were used in this study. PCR-RFLP and SDS-proteins were performed to reveal the genetic characterization and genetic relationship of the studied quails. Analysis of fragments generated by digestion of PCR product with restriction enzyme NlaIII recorded highly polymorphic restriction profiles. There is a wide intraspecific COI, SEMA3E and TLX genes variability among the studied quails. Protein bands varied from10 to 18 between quails with minimum number of bands were in the Dotted white quail (10 bands) and the maximum were in the Japanese quail (18 bands) as measured by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The Dotted white quail revealed the lowest similarity to the Bobwhite with a coefficient of 0.18 while The similarity coefficients between the Common quail and each one of the other quails were 0.67, 0.62, 0.45 and 0.42 for the Japanese, Panda, Dotted white and the Bobwhite quails, respectively. The results indicate that, PCR-RFLP and protein analyses are good techniques to evaluate genetic characterization and genetic relationship of these quails.

On the status of Dusky-legged Guan Penelope obscura Temminck, 1815 (Aves: Cracidae) in Paraguay

A pesar de repetidas referencias sobre la presencia de la especie en Paraguay, el estado de Penelope obscura sigue siendo debatido. Para aclarar los datos disponibles se provee una revisión de la literatura junto con datos de registros inéditos modernos que comprueban la presencia de la especie en Paraguay. Los limites de especies adentro del complejo obscura no están bien definidos, y por eso incluimos una discusión breve e la importancia potencial de las poblaciones Paraguayas para la conservación de la especie.

Despite repeated references to the species in Paraguay, the status of the Dusky-legged Guan Penelope obscura in the country has been the subject of much debate. In an attempt to clarify the available data, a thorough review of literature records is provided and details of new and previously unpublished records that confirm that the nominate subspecies is present in Paraguay are given. With the species limits in the obscura complex poorly defined, we provide a brief discussion of the potential importance of Paraguayan populations for the conservation of the species.

On the status of Dusky-legged Guan Penelope obscura Temminck, 1815 (Aves: Cracidae) in Paraguay

A pesar de repetidas referencias sobre la presencia de la especie en Paraguay, el estado de Penelope obscura sigue siendo debatido. Para aclarar los datos disponibles se provee una revisión de la literatura junto con datos de registros inéditos modernos que comprueban la presencia de la especie en Paraguay. Los limites de especies adentro del complejo obscura no están bien definidos, y por eso incluimos una discusión breve e la importancia potencial de las poblaciones Paraguayas para la conservación de la especie.(AU)

Despite repeated references to the species in Paraguay, the status of the Dusky-legged Guan Penelope obscura in the country has been the subject of much debate. In an attempt to clarify the available data, a thorough review of literature records is provided and details of new and previously unpublished records that confirm that the nominate subspecies is present in Paraguay are given. With the species limits in the obscura complex poorly defined, we provide a brief discussion of the potential importance of Paraguayan populations for the conservation of the species.(AU)