Prevalence of avian haematozoa in São Paulo state, Brazil

Abstract

The blood parasites of 15,574 birds representing 266 species of 43 families from primarily three areas in São Paulo State, Brazil were examined for haematozoa. Only 1240 (8.0% of 121 species fo 32 families were infected with blood parasites. This prevalence was similar to that reported in a previous study. Species of Haemoproteus were the most commonly encountered haematozoans (38.9%), followed by microfilaria (30.7%), Trypanosoma (13.7%), Plasmodium (7.5%) and Leucocytozoon (0.8%). Prevalence of parasitism was significantly different between the three major areas sampled. It was shown that this was due in part to differences in the avifaunas at both the familial and species levels. Prevalence varied markedly in only one of the 10 years of the study. Monthly fluctuations in prevalence were largely due to changes in relative proportions of highlytion of both. Prevalences of both microfilaria and Trypanosoma were higher than reported for any other similar survey in the world.

Blood parasites in some birds from eastern plains of Colombia

“…As noted by White et al (1978) and Woodworth-Lynas et al (1989), the haematozoans most frequently found in Neotropical birds are haemoproteids, followed by microfilariae and plasmodiids. Our Colombian sample closely approximates this general pattern, but microfilariae were more common than Haemoproteus, a finding similar to that recorded by Bennett et al (1991) for Bolivia.…”

Parasitismo em aves silvestres residentes e migratórias da Ilha da Marambaia, Estado do Rio de Janeiro1

“…No Brasil, estudos sobre ocorrência e prevalência de parasitos no sangue de aves silvestres tem sido registrados por vários autores, entre outros, Woodworth-Lynas et al (1989), Adriano & Cordeiro (2001), Vanstreels et al (2015) e Chagas et al (2016) em São Paulo, Fecchio et al (2007), Crizóstimo (2008) e Fecchio (2011) no Distrito Federal, Sebaio (2002 e Ribeiro et al (2005) em Minas Gerais, Leite et al (2013) em Tocantins e Roos et al (2015) na Amazônia.…”

Recent advances in the study of avian malaria: an overview with an emphasis on the distribution of Plasmodium spp in Brazil

“…Although Brazil confronts serious problems in conserving its biomes and biodiversity, few studies have been conducted to assess the diversity of haemosporidians and other blood parasites in different species of wild birds (captive or free living) or the influence of parasitism in altered and intact environments (Bennett & Lopes 1980, Woodworth-Lynas et al 1989, Ribeiro et al 2005, Fecchio et al 2007, Belo et al 2009, Bueno et al 2010, Sebaio et al 2010, Fecchio et al 2011 (Table).…”

“…Two pioneering studies have examined the prevalence of haemoparasites in a large number of birds in the state of São Paulo (SP), Brazil (Bennett & Lopes 1980, Woodworth-Lynas et al 1989. These studies represent the first prominent surveys conducted in Brazil that assess the prevalence of haemoparasites in wild birds from various families while comparing the parasitism among birds captured at different locations.…”

“…To investigate whether the differences in the prevalence of haemoparasites could be influenced by the distribution of bird species, Woodworth-Lynas et al (1989) greatly expanded upon the previous sample size. In that survey, 15,574 birds from nine localities in SP, Brazil were examined (Itapetininga, Casa Grande, Guaratuba, Iguapé, Zoológica, Registro, Peruíbe, Itanhaém and Piedade).…”