Infestación por Ornithonyssus spp. en un criadero de periquitos australianos / Infestation by Ornithonyssus spp. in a australian budgerigars breeding place / Infestação por Ornithonyssus spp. em um criatório de periquitos australianos

Popularmente conocido como ácaro de las plumas, el Ornithonyssus spp. es un ácaro hematófago, que representa una de las principales plagas en avicultura. En este trabajo se relata la infestación parasitaria causada por Ornithonyssus spp. en un criadero de periquitos australianos, en que fallecieron el 50 % de los animales.(AU)

Popularly known as the feather mite, Ornithonyssus spp. is an haematophagous mite, being one of the major ectoparasite in the poultry industry. The aim of this study is to report the occurrence of a parasitic infestation by Ornithonyssus spp. in an Australian budgerigar breeding, where 50% of the animals came to death.(AU)

Conhecido popularmente como ácaro da pena, o Ornithonyssus spp. é um ácaro hematófago, sendo um dos principais ectoparasitos em avicultura. Este trabalho tem por objetivo reportar a ocorrência de infestação por Ornithonyssus spp. em um criatório de periquitos australianos, em que 50% dos animais vieram a óbito.(AU)

Ingluvoliths in budgerigar: case report / Ingluvolitos em periquito australiano: relato de caso

The gastrointestinal tract of birds presents unique anatomy and physiology. The crop or chat, is a distension of the esophagus with function of storing food. Injuries and masses in these locations can occur for various reasons causing feeding difficulties and thinning of the bird. Food or foreign body impacted inside tract gatrintestinal can form the bezoars. Thus, the objective was reporting the occurrence of masses in crop in a budgerigar attended at the Veterinary Hospital of the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, and diagnosed as phytobezoar or ingluvoliths after necropsy examination and evaluation of the mass found(AU)

O trato gastrointestinal das aves apresenta anatomia e fisiologia únicas. O inglúvio, ou papo, é uma distensão do esôfago com função de armazenar alimentos. Lesões e massas nesses locais podem ocorrer por diversos motivos, provocando dificuldades alimentares e emagrecimento da ave. O alimento ou material estranho impactado no interior de trato gastrintestinal pode formar os bezoares. Assim, objetivou-se descrever a ocorrência de massas em inglúvio de um periquito australiano atendido no Hospital Veterinário da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, e identificadas como fitobezoar ou ingluvolitos após exame necroscópico e avaliação das massas encontradas(AU)

Isolation of Salmonella spp. in captive Psittaciformes from zoos and a commercial establishment of Fortaleza, Brazil / Isolamento de Salmonella spp. em Psittaciformes de zoológicos e estabelecimento comercial de Fortaleza, Brasil

This study showed a low prevalence of Salmonella spp. in captive psittacines from zoos and a commercial establishment of Fortaleza. None of the isolated serotypes (S. Lexington, S. Saintpaul and S. Newport) have yet been reported in Amazona aestiva, Ara chloroptera or Melopsittacus undulatus. However, the fact that most birds presented negative for Salmonella spp. may not imply the absence of this pathogen in these birds, since the intermittent excretion is a well-known characteristic of this microorganism.(AU)

A manutenção de aves em cativeiro reúne condições que favorecem a disseminação de doenças infecciosas, sendo a Salmonella uma dessas doenças infecciosas que acomete os psitacídeos. Portanto o objetivo do presente estudo foi isolar e identificar Salmonella spp. em Psittaciformes mantidos em criatórios comerciais e conservacionistas da Região Metropolitana de Fortaleza. Para o estudo, foram coletados swabs cloacais de 182 psitacídeos clinicamente sadios. Os resultados mostraram que três psitacídeos avaliados (1,65%) foram positivos: Amazona aestiva (Salmonella Lexington), Ara chloroptera (Salmonella Saintpaul) e Melopsittacus undulatus (Salmonella Newport). De acordo com a literatura científica, não há registro desses sorotipos em psitacídeos. Esta pesquisa evidenciou uma baixa prevalência de Salmonella spp. em Psittaciformes mantidos em criatórios comerciais e conservacionistas da Região Metropolitana de Fortaleza.(AU)

Survey of Salmonella sp in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) in Fortaleza, Brazil

Background: The budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) are psittacine of the Psittacidae family which belongs in the Psittaciformes order. These birds do not belong in the free living fauna of Brazil, therefore almost all of these birds found in the home environment are derived from pet stores or free markets. The dissemination of Salmonella among psittacine and other birds, and men as well, is a theme of great scientific concern. Salmonellosis is a highly contagious disease and psittacine are susceptible, but may also act as reservoirs hosting Salmonella sp. in the intestines and presenting as a source of infection to humans and domestic animals. Therefore, this study aimed to isolate, identify and to assess the dissemination of Salmonella in budgerigars in Fortaleza city. Materials, Methods & Results: This study was performed between January and September, 2011. Two hundred and sixty four samples of drag and cloacal swabs were collected from budgerigars found in pet stores and breeders, of which 198 were individual cloacal swabs, 58 were drag swabs and 8 intestine samples were also collected during necropsy performed in birds that died during the experiment. The microbiological procedure was performed according to the following steps: pre-enrichment step, using tubes containing peptone water broth; selective enrichment step, in which pre-enriched cultures were transferred to tubes containing Rappaport-Vassiliadis broth and tubes containing Selenite-Cystine broth, added Novobiocin; and plating step, in which enriched samples were streaked in plates containing Brilliant Green agar and plates containing MacConkey agar. Based on the morphology and color, colonies were selected and inoculated in Triple-Sugar-Iron agar, Lysine-Iron agar and Sulphite-Indole-Motility agar for confirmation. Urease production was assessed to differentiate Proteus from Salmonella. A questionnaire was administered to fully comprehend the conditions in which the budgerigars were maintained and housed, comprising the following subjects: food type, antimicrobial use, cleaning products used and bird species housed per cage. No Salmonella sp. was detected in budgerigars commercialized and maintained in pet stores and commercial breeders in Fortaleza city, Brazil. The questionnaire results revealed that most establishments maintain the seeds provided for the budgerigars in sealed containers and also, feeders, drinkers, cages and facilities are cleaned once a day, though most use only water treated by the local company to do so. Discussion: The studies involving Salmonella sp. and budgerigars are scarce and show a low or absent prevalence of this pathogen in this bird. The results of the questionnaire administered to the bird owners also aided in understanding the absence of Salmonella sp. in the studied birds. In conclusion, according to the methodology applied, the budgerigars commercialized in Fortaleza city do not pose imminent risk of transmitting Salmonella to the local population. In spite the absence of positivity or low prevalence of Salmonella in budgerigars reported in this study as in other scientific literature consulted, it is still recommended that control measures should always be applied in order to avoid this pathogen, since important serotypes potentially harmful to human health have been previously identified in this avian species.

Infestação por Ornithonyssus spp. em um criatório de periquitos australianos

Conhecido popularmente como ácaro da pena, o Ornithonyssus spp. se alimenta do sangue das aves, sendo uma das principais pragas dentro da avicultura. Desta forma, este trabalho tem por objetivo reportar a ocorrência de infestação parasitária por Ornithonyssus spp. em um criatório de periquitos australianos, em que metade dos animais veio ao óbito pelo parasitismo intenso.