RESUMO
Histomonas meleagridis is the causative agent of blackhead disease or histomonosis in turkeys, and previous research suggests that this parasite survives poorly outside of hosts except within heterakid nematodes. However, we investigated the viability of H. meleagridis in or on several artificially contaminated materials kept at ambient room temperature (22 +/- 2 C) to mimic the situation in the field. The protozoan survived for up to 1 hr on wood, rubber, and metal; up to 3 hr on egg-tray cartons, egg shells, and bricks; up to 6 hr on straw, turkey feathers, and feed; and up to 9 hr in nonchlorinated tap water and fecal matter. Therefore, contaminated water, fresh fecal matter, or both could play a role in transmission of the parasite within and among poultry houses rather than other materials tested in this study.
Assuntos
Abrigo para Animais , Doenças das Aves Domésticas/parasitologia , Infecções por Protozoários/parasitologia , Trichomonadida/isolamento & purificação , Perus , Animais , Viabilidade Microbiana , Doenças das Aves Domésticas/transmissão , Infecções por Protozoários/transmissão , Trichomonadida/crescimento & desenvolvimentoRESUMO
Berlin strains of Histomonas meleagridis were subcultivated to produce cyst-like stages. These strains were studied for their ITS 1 and 18S rRNA properties and compared with sequences in data banks of other H. meleagridis strains, Dientamoeba fragilis, and some species of the genus Trichomonas and relatives. The Berlin isolates that had previously been shown to be able to develop cyst-like structures (Munsch et al. 2008) represent a significant cluster among the published data of other Histomonas meleagridis isolates and thus the formation of cysts might be a common feature that would open further possibilities of transmission.