Helminth fauna of a Japanese golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos japonica.

A Japanese golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos japonica, was found dead in Nagano Prefecture PB 399-8200, Japan, and subjected to necropsy. The necropsy revealed that the entire length of the intestine was filled with several masses of intestinal parasites. The recovered helminths were identified as one digenean trematode species, Neodiplostomum reflexum; two species of nematodes, Synhimantus sp. and larvae of Porrocaecum sp.; and a single species of Acanthocephala, Centrorhynchus sp. Digenea and acanthocephalans were found in massive numbers, obliterating the intestinal lumen, which suggests that the bird died as a result of the parasitic intestinal obstruction. The same type of helminths as those observed in this case was previously recorded in crested serpent eagles (Spilornis cheela perplexus) in Japan, but the present study emphasizes the presence of the four species in the Japanese golden eagle as a new host record. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of N. reflexum in Japan.

Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria isolated from Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae) in Japan.

Wild birds are recognized as disseminators of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria into the environment. Here, we isolated AMR indicator bacteria from 198 Great Cormorant cloacal swabs collected in Shiga (n=90), Oita (n=52), Gifu (n=29), and Gunma (n=27) Prefectures, Japan, in 2018 and 2019. In total, 198 Aeromonas spp. and 194 Escherichia spp. were isolated, and their antimicrobial susceptibility was examined. Aeromonas spp. were resistant to colistin (8.6%), nalidixic acid (4%), and other antimicrobials (<2%), with 3.0% positivity for mcr-3. Escherichia spp. showed resistance to colistin (3.1%), ampicillin (2.6%), tetracycline (2.1%), and other antimicrobials (<2%). This study shows the presence of AMR bacteria in Great Cormorants, indicating that these birds potentially disseminate AMR bacteria.

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis complicated with refractory optic neuritis and maxillary osteomyelitis.

We report a case of a 61-year-old man with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) complicated with refractory optic neuritis and maxillary osteomyelitis. He had been treated with prednisolone (PSL) as cryptogenic organizing pneumonia in the respiratory department for 2 years. Afterward, he complained tenderness of paranasal sinuses and rapidly progressive visual loss of the left eye. Although both MPO-ANCA and PR3-ANCA were negative, he was diagnosed as GPA based on the American College of Rheumatology 1990 criteria. Ophthalmologic and oral examination revealed left optic neuritis and destructive maxillary bone. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed the optic neuritis and inflammation around the optic nerve. This finding suggested that the direct spread of inflammation from paranasal sinuses caused the optic neuritis. In a short time, increasing a dose of PSL and administration of intravenous cyclophosphamide were initiated. Antibiotics were also administered to treat sinusitis. Although his visual acuity of the left eye deteriorated to no light perception temporarily, it finally improved after treatment and findings of MRI were also improved. In contrast, destruction of maxilla bone had been progressing. This is a rare case of GPA complicated with optic neuritis due to sinusitis and maxillary osteomyelitis.

Isolation and antimicrobial susceptibility of Plesiomonas shigelloides from great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae) in Gifu and Shiga Prefectures, Japan.

Plesiomonas shigelloides is a causal agent of gastroenteritis, sepsis and meningitis in humans. We examined the prevalence of P. shigelloides among great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae) in Japan and the antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates. P. shigelloides was isolated from 33 (47.8%) of 69 fecal samples from great cormorants in 2014. All 33 isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing using broth microdilution methods, which showed resistance to ampicillin (31 isolates, 93.9%), tetracycline (two isolates, 6.1%) and trimethoprim (one isolate, 3.0%). The high prevalence of P. shigelloides in the great cormorants implicates the possible microbiological risk to public health.

Effects of in ovo exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin on hepatic AHR/ARNT-CYP1A signaling pathways in common cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo).

Our previous studies have isolated multiple isoforms of aryl hydrocarbon receptors (AHRs) and AHR nuclear translocators (ARNTs) in avian species. However, roles of such genes on cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) expression are not fully understood. To investigate the effects of dioxins on the hepatic expression profiles of AHR1, AHR2, ARNT1 and ARNT2 in avian species, and whether the expression levels of AHRs and ARNTs affect the transcriptions of CYP1A4 and CYP1A5 genes, the eggs of common (great) cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) collected from Lake Biwa, Japan, were in ovo administrated with 0, 1500 and 4500pg/g egg of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), and the hepatic expression levels of AHRs, ARNTs and CYP1As in embryos were monitored with two-step real-time RT-PCR. In young and adult cormorants collected from the same location, the hepatic expressions of these genes were also measured to understand the effects of growth stage. The residue levels of TCDD and other chlorinated dioxin-like congeners (DLCs) in the body of cormorants were quantified with high-resolution gas chromatography equipped with mass-spectrometry. There was no observable effect of in ovo TCDD treatment even at the highest dosage on mortality, body weight and morphology of the liver, heart, spleen, kidney and lung in the embryos. The mRNA expression of ARNT2 was slightly suppressed by the treatment with TCDD, while no alteration was observed for the expression of AHR1, AHR2 and ARNT1. Expressions of CYP1A4 and CYP1A5 were dose-dependently enhanced by TCDD, but CYP1A4 mRNA level increased more prominently than CYP1A5, indicating the difference in induction efficiency between the CYP1A isozymes. Comparison of hepatic mRNA levels of these genes among embryonic, young and adult cormorants revealed that young and adult cormorants had greater CYP1A5 expression levels than embryos, independently of the accumulation levels of DLCs. These results suggest that the hepatic induction of each CYP1A by DLCs in cormorants occurs in an isoform-specific manner and CYP1A5 expression, at least partially, depends on the factors related to the growth of cormorants, but the transcriptional processes of CYP1As are not related to the expression levels of AHRs and ARNTs. This study yielded results supporting our previous observations that in reality, high accumulation of DLCs induces hepatic CYP1A4 and 1A5 expressions in the wild cormorant population.