Abstract
The knowledge of raptor pathogens and associated lesions may be extremely important to enhancing raptor conservation efforts and reducing pathogen spillover to humans and domesticated animals and vice versa. Parasite infections of the digestive system and associated bacteria and pathological changes were evaluated in deceased diurnal and nocturnal raptors in central Italy. Overall, the prevalence of parasites (nematodes, cestodes, trematodes, acanthocephalans, and protozoa) identified in the examined birds was 72.41%, and most of the positive raptors (71.42%) showed multiple parasite infections. Among bacteria, Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enterica subspecies diarizonae, Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Pasteurella multocida were identified. The results obtained showed that both parasites and bacteria may cause severe lesions in the digestive system of diurnal and nocturnal raptors; parasites and bacteria may concur in causing these lesions; most severe lesions are caused by the interaction of multiple pathogens, both parasites and bacteria; and the same pathogen taxa are frequently associated with the same pathological changes. This study is the first report of S. typhimurium and S. enterica subspecies diarizonae in Buteo buteo, while Andracantha mergi, Spirocerca spp., Sarcocystis dispersa, Sarcocystis columbae, and Eumonospora spp. were recorded for the first time in Italy.
Highlights
Raptors play a fundamental role in ecosystems as apex predators and scavengers and are considered biological indicators of environmental pollution
Catarrhal and/or hemorrhagic enteritis and cachexia were frequently observed in raptors showing or not traumatic lesions (Table 1)
The prevalence (72.41%) of parasites found in the digestive system of examined birds was high, as 21 out of 29 examined raptors scored positive for at least a parasite species
Summary
Raptors play a fundamental role in ecosystems as apex predators and scavengers and are considered biological indicators of environmental pollution. Studies on pathogens of raptors may provide useful data for ecosystem health monitoring, the evaluation of the health status of raptors populations, and the role these birds may play in spreading some important pathogens, such as drug-resistant bacteria and potentially zoonotic bacteria and parasites [1,2,3,4] These animals are protected species in many countries, such as in Italy [5]. Reports on the occurrence and pathological changes associated with parasites and bacteria in raptors are scarce [18,30,31,32] These data may be extremely useful to improve the knowledge on the impact these pathogens may have on raptor health and to evaluate whether their pathogenic role is linked to parasite infection intensity, to a specific parasite or bacterial species, and to the concurrence of parasites and bacteria [20,25,30,31,33].
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