Mycobiota recovered from the trachea and lungs of pigeons (Columba livia) captured in a grain mill

Marcílio Ferreira De Melo-Neto,Fernanda Cristina De Albuquerque Maranhão,Denise Maria Wanderlei Silva,Priscila Da Silva Guimarães

doi:10.33448/rsd-v11i3.26802

Marcílio Ferreira De Melo-Neto, Fernanda Cristina De Albuquerque Maranhão + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v11i3.26802

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Abstract

Respiratory diseases are commonly related to grain mills in association with fungi. Pigeons (Columba livia) are a potential source of pathogenic fungi and a public health concern, causing economic damages in urban areas. We aimed to determine the tracheal and pulmonary mycobiota of pigeons captured in a grain mill, identifying potentially pathogenic fungi. Captured pigeons were euthanized for the collection of tracheal secretion and lungs in saline suspensions for culture (100µL) in Sabouraud dextrose agar with chloramphenicol (48h/28°C). Yeasts were evaluated after Gram staining in microscopy and cultured in Hicrome®Candida agar, while lactophenol cotton blue solution was used in filamentous fungi/molds. Mycological identification keys were used for the genus determination. 207 fungal (9 genus) were isolated from the trachea and lungs of 21 pigeons captured: 199 molds (96.14%) and 8 yeast (3.86%). Aspergillus spp., Rhizopus spp., Penicillium spp. and Candida spp. were the most prevalent, mainly in lungs. We confirmed yeasts and molds from pigeons, increasing the potential risks for chronic or acute diseases after contact with several fungi from pigeons. A greater control of the presence of pigeons in the work environment is necessary.

Highlights

Pigeons (Columba livia) are cosmopolitan and a potential source of pathogenic fungi, causing economic damages in urban areas as a public health concern, due to environmental contamination by the deposition of their feathers, excrements and even fungi scattered in the respiratory process (Ferreira et al, 2016; Lee et al, 2017)
Yeasts were evaluated by Gram stain for microscopic identification (40x-1600x) and cultured in Hicrome®Candida Differential Agar (Himedia) for presuntive identification of the medically important Candida species (Algrawal et al, 2014), while lactophenol cotton blue solution was used in filamentous fungi (40x-1600x) and mycological identification keys were used for the genus determination (Hoog et al, 2000; Kidd et al, 2016)
Twenty-one pigeons were captured for collection in 2 anatomic sites, a total of 207 fungal isolates were obtained from the tracheal and pulmonary samples (Figure 2), with 199 filamentous fungi (96.14%) and only 8 yeasts (3.86%)

Summary

Introduction

Pigeons (Columba livia) are cosmopolitan and a potential source of pathogenic fungi, causing economic damages in urban areas as a public health concern, due to environmental contamination by the deposition of their feathers, excrements and even fungi scattered in the respiratory process (Ferreira et al, 2016; Lee et al, 2017). Their granivorous habits affect in natura or industrialized grain-food industries from the processing to the final consumer, besides the importance as a vector of pathogens (Ferreira et al, 2016). The present study aimed to characterize the mycobiota of the respiratory system of pigeons captured in a grain mill in Alagoas to identify the coexisting fungi in their respiratory tract, focusing two different sites

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