Abstract
Infection by Cryptosporidium baileyi causes respiratory cryptosporidiosis in red grouse Lagopus lagopus scotica. First diagnosed in 2010, it has since been detected across half of moors managed for grouse shooting in northern England. We hypothesised that contaminated grouse faeces within communal trays visited by grouse containing grit coated with flubendazole, provided to control Trichostrongylus tenuis parasites of grouse, is a reservoir of infection. To establish the basis to this hypothesis, contents of 23 trays from a grouse moor were examined for Cryptosporidium oocysts. Contents were subjected to Immuno Magnetic Separation oocyst concentration techniques prior to examination by Immuno Fluorescence Antibody Test microscopy and molecular analysis on the 18S rRNA gene. Seven of 13 (54%) grit trays known to be used by infected grouse were positive for Cryptosporidium by IMS-IFAT, compared to two of 10 (20%) random background trays. Ten of the 13 (77%) trays used by infected birds amplified positive for Cryptosporidium by Polymerase Chain Reaction and three of the 10 (30%) random trays. All PCR amplified products sequenced matched with C. baileyi, with C. parvum also present in one tray. These data suggest that trays used to “worm” grouse may act as reservoirs of Cryptosporidium infection and their future design may need to be reconsidered to minimise contamination.
Highlights
Red grouse Lagopus lagopus scotica are wild gamebirds of cultural and economic importance in the British uplands
All Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplified products sequenced matched with C. baileyi, with C. parvum present in one tray
We considered whether grit trays used by known diseased grouse were more likely to contain Cryptosporidium oocysts than random trays from the same moor and supported our hypothesis
Summary
Red grouse Lagopus lagopus scotica (hereafter grouse) are wild gamebirds of cultural and economic importance in the British uplands They exhibit quasi-cyclical fluctuations in abundance over a fourto six-year period driven by the intestinal parasitic worm Trichostrongylus tenuis [1]. A revised grit formulation occurred in 2007 This involved a change of benzimidazole drug from fenbendazole to flubendazole, incorporation of a more temperature-resistant binding fat and a new mode of grit delivery-withdrawal using flip-lid trays, rather than being scattered on the ground. These changes have been associated with reduced worm infestations, apparent cessation of quasi-cyclical fluctuations in grouse abundance and a doubling of post-breeding grouse densities [2]. Successful has been the change in drug delivery that virtually all grouse managers use this system
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