Hematologic Values of Healthy and Sick Free-ranging Lesser Flamingos ( Phoeniconaias minor) in Kenya.

We determined hematologic parameters of five healthy and nine sick free-ranging Lesser Flamingos ( Phoeniconaias minor) from Lake Nakuru, Kenya. Heterophilia and lymphopenia were evident in sick birds, with up to 7.5-fold higher heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in sick birds compared to healthy birds. Leucopenia was present in a few sick birds. A higher than normal packed cell volume was observed in birds that had evidence of acute disease, whereas a lower than normal packed cell volume was seen in birds with evidence of prolonged sickness. Healthy birds had higher total white blood cell counts and lymphocyte counts and lower heterophil counts than zoo flamingos. Most sick birds were diagnosed with septicemia, occasionally with fibrinous exudation into the coelomic cavities. One bird had mycobacterial granulomas, one had a corynebacterium-associated wing abscess, and one had a wing fracture. We provide hematologic data for free-ranging Lesser Flamingos and compare the parameters of sick and healthy birds.

Prevalence of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi as well as the identification of associated ticks in sympatric Grevy's zebras (Equus grevyi) and donkeys (Equus africanus asinus) in northern Kenya.

The role of equine piroplasmosis as a factor in the population decline of the Grevy's zebra is not known. We determined the prevalence of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi in cograzing Grevy's zebras (Equus grevyi) and donkeys (Equus africanus asinus) in northern Kenya and identified the associated tick vectors. Blood samples were taken from 71 donkeys and 16 Grevy's zebras from March to May 2011. A nested PCR reaction using 18s ribosomal (r)RNA primers on 87 blood spots showed 72% (51/71; 95% confidence interval [CI] 60.4-81.0%) of donkeys and 100% (16/16; 95% CI, 77.3-100%) of Grevy's zebras were T. equi positive. No samples were positive for B. caballi. Sequence comparison using the National Center for Biotechnology Information's basic local alignment search tool identified homologous 18s rRNA sequences with a global geographic spread. The T. equi-derived sequences were evaluated using Bayesian approaches with independent Metropolis-coupled Markov chain Monte Carlo runs. The sequences clustered with those found in Sudan, Croatia, Mongolia, and the US, with statistical support greater than 80% for the two main clades. Hyalomma tick species were found on both donkeys and Grevy's zebras, whereas Rhipicephalus pulchellus was found exclusively on Grevy's zebras and Hyalomma marginatum rupfipes on donkeys. The prevalence of T. equi was 100% in Grevy's zebras and 72% in donkeys with common tick vectors identified. Our results suggest that donkeys and Grevy's zebras can be asymptomatic carriers and that piroplasmosis is endemic in the study area.