First record of Ornithonyssus bursa (Berlese, 1888) (Mesostigmata: Macronyssidae) parasitizing invasive monk parakeets in Santiago, Chile

Abstract

Myiopsitta monachus is an invasive psittacine with wide distribution due to the pet trade. Its large communal nests and synanthropic nature contribute to its successful colonization of cities, from where it seems to be expanding in range and numbers. This is relevant with regard to pathogens that invasive species may harbor, especially when host populations thrive. We aimed to identify an abundant mite found in invasive monk parakeet chicks that had been collected in Santiago during 2017 and 2018. Through morphological and molecular identification of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene, we confirmed the presence of Ornithonyssus bursa. This was the first report of this mite in Chile. This mite is common in native and invasive monk parakeet populations and may affect other birds, including domestic fowl. Further, this mite bites people and can be a potential vector of pathogens such as bacteria or viruses. We conclude that this parasite was likely introduced with the parakeet and discuss possible ecological, health and economic consequences of this new potential pest.

Sleeping with the enemy: case reports of Ornithonyssus bursa (Berlese, 1888) (Mesostigmata: Macronyssidae) causing human dermatitis in Brazil

“…The recent material collected was submitted to DNA extraction, and we were able to obtain sequences of the gene 18S, as already reported by Bassini-Silva et al (2019), and the first 16S gene sequences from O. bursa collected in Brazil. When we compare our 18S sequence with the sequences that are present in GenBank, our sequence is 98.96% (GenBank accession number: FJ91185), similar to the sequence that was obtained in the study made by Dowling and O'Connor (2010), as well as 97.11% (GenBank accession number: MG966210) and 99.12% (GenBank accession number: MT176123), similar when compared with the sequences obtained in the studies made by Bassini-Silva et al (2019) and Briceño et al (2021), respectively. They pointed out that the genetic variability of the studied region of the 18S and the geographic distance could explain the genetic differences.…”

“…Nowadays, the number of reported cases of O. bursa bites in humans increased in South America (Bassini-Silva et al 2019;Mesquita-Sousa et al 2020;Briceño et al 2021;Takatsu et al 2021). We expect that due to increasing awareness, the number of reports in association with O. bursa will continue to rise.…”

Parasitic fauna of the invasive house sparrow (Passer domesticus) from Ñuble region, Chile: an example of co-introduced parasites

“…In spite of O. bursa being considered an important parasite of chickens in the Neotropics (Arrabal et al, 2012;Lareschi et al, 2017;Horn et al, 2018), there are no previous records on domestic fowl from Chile (Alcaíno & Gorman, 1999). However, it was recently recorded from the invasive monk parakeet in Central Chile (Briceño et al, 2021). Thus, the present record is the first report of this parasite on a wild passerine in Chile.…”

“…In addition to the present study, it is worth noting that among nine avian species introduced to Chile, three species (C. californica, C. livia and M. monachus) are infected with co-introduced parasites (Briceño et al, 2017(Briceño et al, , 2021Oyarzún-Ruiz & González-Acuña, 2021). The discussion about invasive hosts and their co-introduced/co-invasive parasites in the country is not extensive (PNUD, 2017).…”

“…Thus, in South America, there are noticeably fewer species of ecto-and endoparasites than have been reported from the house sparrow in its primary range, although these data came mostly from Brazil (e.g., Brasil & Amato, 1992;Calegaro-Marques & Amato, 2010;Santos et al, 2018Santos et al, , 2020a. In Chile, there are scarce reports about the parasite fauna of alien hosts, with some examples noted for the monk parakeet (Myopsitta monachus (Boddaert, 1783) (Psittacidae), rock pigeon (Columba livia Gmelin, 1789) (Columbidae), and California quail (Callipepla californica (Shaw, 1798) (Odontophoridae) (Briceño et al, 2017(Briceño et al, , 2021Oyarzún-Ruiz & González-Acuña, 2021). Although the house sparrow was introduced to Chile about a century ago (Anderson, 2006), there are no thorough investigations of its parasites.…”