Abstract
Free-ranging corvids—678 magpies (Pica pica) and 120 hooded crows (Corvus cornix) from nine protected areas of the Pisa province (central Italy)—were examined for Toxoplasma gondii and Trichinella pseudospiralis. The intracardiac blood clots from 651 magpies and 120 hooded crows were serologically examined for T. gondii. The DNA extracted from the hearts of seropositive birds was then used to perform a nested PCR for the amplification of the T. gondii B1 gene and for genotyping for SAG genetic markers. Breast muscle samples from 678 magpies and 91 hooded crows were tested by an artificial digestion method for Trichinella. Data were statistically analyzed. Forty-five (5.8%—41 magpies and four hooded crows) out of the 771 examined animals scored seropositive for T. gondii, with titers ranging from 1:25 to 1:100. T. gondii DNA was detected in 15 of the 45 positive birds and T. gondii genotypes II and III were identified. No positivity for T. pseudospiralis was found. No significant differences between the two species of corvids and among the different areas of origin were observed for seropositivity to T. gondii. This is the first extensive study on both T. gondii and T. pseudospiralis in magpies and hooded crows, as well as the first detection of T. gondii SAG genotypes in magpies.
Highlights
Magpies (Pica pica) and hooded crows (Corvus cornix) are sedentary birds with a scavenger behavior, feeding on carcasses, arthropods, vegetables, small prey and food waste [1]. Due to their feeding habits, these avian species may become infected by zoonotic parasites transmitted by the ingestion of oocysts and/or tissue infective stages, potentially contributing to the spread of these parasites and an increased risk of human infection [2,3]
In previous studies performed by molecular and/or serological analysis, different avian species have been found to be infected by T. gondii worldwide [6,7,8,9,10,11], with high
A total of 798 wild corvids—678 magpies (P. pica) and 120 hooded crows (C. cornix)—of both sexes, provided by rangers of the Province of Pisa during the period December 2012–July 2013 and hunted in nine different areas for faunistic restoration located in eight different municipalities of the Province of Pisa (43◦ 42’42”48 N, 10◦ 24’52”92 E, Tuscany, central Italy) (Table 1), were examined
Summary
Magpies (Pica pica) and hooded crows (Corvus cornix) are sedentary birds with a scavenger behavior, feeding on carcasses, arthropods, vegetables, small prey and food waste [1]. Due to their feeding habits, these avian species may become infected by zoonotic parasites transmitted by the ingestion of oocysts and/or tissue infective stages, potentially contributing to the spread of these parasites and an increased risk of human infection [2,3]. Infection takes place by the ingestion of tissue cysts or of mature oocysts, shed by final hosts and sporulated in the environment. In previous studies performed by molecular and/or serological analysis, different avian species have been found to be infected by T. gondii worldwide [6,7,8,9,10,11], with high
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