Epidemiological Investigation Of Several Protozoa And Chlamydia Diseases Of Birds And Pigeons

Ornamental birds in China have been breeding for more than three thousand years,which enriched the people's lives and enhanced social interaction.With the continuous improvement of people's living standards,the social needs of birds are also increasing.But parasites and Chlamydia infections often affect bird health,leading to bird diseases or even death.Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasitic protozoa that infects most warm-blooded animals(including birds).Approximately one third of the world's population has been infected with T.gondii.Humans can be infected by ingesting uncooked animal meat and contaminated food and water exposed to T.gondii.Cryptosporidium is an important zoonotic protozoon,affecting birds,a wide range of animals and humans.Cryptosporidium can cause mammalian(including humans)diarrheal diseases and avian respiratory diseases.Cryptosporidium infection in birds was firstly recorded in 1929.So far,over 30 avian species have been reported as the hosts of Cryptosporidium in the world.Microsporidiosis is a common disease in animals and humans around the world.Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most common microsporidian species in humans.Many animal species may be potential sources of human microsporidiosis.Giardia duodenalis is one of the most common enteric parasites of humans and animals,including companion animals,livestock and wildlife.Chlamydia psittaci is a causative agent of psittacosis,which can infect a wide range of hosts including birds and humans.Chlamydia infection can cause dyspnea,high fever,respiratory infections.However,information regarding C.psittaci infection in pigeons is scarce.In this study,the occurrence of T.gondii antibodies in sera of two Java sparrow species(white Java sparrow,225 birds;gray Java sparrow,125 birds)collected in Beijing and Henan province was tested by modified agglutination test(MAT).The overall T.gondii seroprevalene in Java sparrows was 34.29%.Antibodies to T.gondii were found in 31(13.7%)of 225 white Java sparrows.Occurrence value in gray Java sparrow was 47.2%(59/125).Species and gender were considered as risk factors for T.gondii infection.Seven hundred and fourty-nine fecal samples were collected from Java sparrows(350)and pigeons(399),and the samples were examined by PCR.The overall Cryptosporidium prevalence is 13.420%(47/350),with 16.44%(37/225)in white java sparrows and 8.00%(10/125)in gray java sparrows.Cryptosporidium prevalence was 9.82%(16/163)in Java sparrow from Beijing and 16.58%(31/187)in Java sparrow from Shangqiu.The prevalence of Cryptosporidium in females and males was 40.63/%(26/64)and 7.34%(21/286),respectively.The Cryptosporidium prevalence in Java sparrows of different ages varied from 10.47 to 16.33%.Sequence analysis of the SSU rRNA gene revealed that all the samples represented C.baileyi.No Cryptosporidium-positive samples were detected in pigeons.No Enterocytozoon-positive nor Giardia-positive samples were detected in faecal sample of Java sparrow and pigeons.An indirect hemagglutination test(IHA)was used to investigate the seroprevalence of Chlamydia infection in Java sparrow.Nested PCR amplification of outer membrane protein A(ompA)gene was used to detect Chlamydia infection in faecal samples of Java sparrow and pigeons.The positive rate of serum antibody of Java sparrow was 13.14%(46/350).The overall Chlamydia prevalence was 5.01%(21/399),with 3.19%in Changchun City and 9.40%in Jilin City.Sequence analysis of the outer membrane protein A(ompA)gene revealed that all the identified isolates represented C.psittaci genotype B.In this study,serological epidemiological investigation and genotyping of T.gondii,Cryptosporidium and Chlamydia infection in Java sparrow and pigeons were carried out,which laid a foundation for further studies of these animal diseases.