A Comparison of Microscopy and PCR Diagnostics for Low Intensity Infections of Haemosporidian Parasites in the Siberian Tit<i>Poecile cinctus</i>

Krams, Indriķis; Suraka, Valērija; Cīrule, Dina; Hukkanen, Markku; Tummeleht, Lea; Mierauskas, Pranas; Rytkönen, Seppo; Rantala, Markus J.; Vrublevska, Jolanta; Orell, Markku; Krama, Tatjana

doi:10.5735/086.049.0506

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Additionally, due to the above-mentioned abortive development, gametocytes could be missing in blood. Krams et al (2012) reported significantly higher prevalence of Haemoproteus spp. when using molecular methods in comparison with microscopy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Genetic diversity of avian haemosporidians in Malaysia: Cytochrome b lineages of the genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus (Haemosporida) from Selangor

Ivanova

Zehtindjiev

Mariaux

et al. 2015

Infection, Genetics and Evolution

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Genetic diversity of avian haemosporidians in Malaysia: Cytochrome b lineages of the genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus (Haemosporida) from Selangor

Ivanova

Zehtindjiev

Mariaux

et al. 2015

Infection, Genetics and Evolution

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“…It has been suggested that PCR-based molecular methods would be more sensitive than microscopy to detection of chronic blood parasite infections (Richard et al 2002, Krams et al 2012. Therefore, we are aware that Haemoproteus infection could be difficult to detect by microscopic scans of blood smears when it became chronic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A longitudinal study of age‐related changes inHaemoproteusinfection in a passerine bird

Marzal

Balbontı́n

Reviriego

et al. 2015

Oikos

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Blood parasites such as malaria and related haemosporidians commonly infect vertebrate species including birds. Understanding age-specifi c patterns of parasite infections is crucial for quantifying the fi tness consequences of parasitism for hosts and for understanding parasite transmission dynamics. We analyzed longitudinal and cross-sectional infection data in house martins Delichon urbica , a migratory bird suff ering from intense haemosporidian infection. We separated within-from among-individual eff ects of age on prevalence. Our results showed that the probability of blood parasite infection increased as individual house martins aged. We also showed that the prevalence of infection decreased with age at last reproduction when controlling for age, showing a selective disappearance of infected birds from the population (i.e. selection). Th e estimated eff ect of age on prevalence was underestimated two-to three-fold if not accounting for such selection. Th is study highlights the importance of taking among-individual heterogeneity in the capacity to fi ght a disease into account because such heterogeneity can mask age-related patterns of infection. Th ese fi ndings emphasize the relevance of considering within-and among-individual patterns of infection in order to understand parasite-induced mortality and the potential for parasite transmission.

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“…This means that when either technique showed a positive infection, we regarded this avian host as infected. If we detected an infection only through PCR, we assumed a very low parasitemia (a parasite count of 1) not detected by using the microscope [70]. However, in such cases we repeated each PCR at least two times to avoid false positives.…”

Section: Hematological Parameters (Parasite Prevalence Parasitemia mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of forest structure on the interaction between avian hosts, dipteran vectors and haemosporidian parasites

et al. 2020

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Background: Forest habitats are important biodiversity refuges for a wide variety of bird species. Parasitism may modulate host species presence and abundance, and parasite effects can change according to forest management practices. Such processes are not well studied in vector-borne avian haemosporidians. We analyzed the effects of forest management on bird-dipteran-haemosporidian interactions, using seven common bird species in managed and unmanaged beech forest habitats in northeastern Germany. We assumed that forest structural heterogeneity affects parasite population parameters in avian hosts (i.e., prevalence and parasitemia), through its effect on the condition of the avian host but also through varying vector abundances. Results: Parasite prevalence was high (about 80%) and homogeneous across different beech forest categories (i.e., young, old, unmanaged) and for all bird species, except Erithacus rubecula (35%). Parasitemia varied across bird species but not across forest categories within each avian species (lowest parasitemia were found in E. rubecula, Turdus merula, and Turdus philomelos). In our study system, we found that vector abundance was not the main driver of parasite dynamics. We found that forest structure affects parasite infection probability directly and potentially host condition via available resources that have to be used either to combat infections (i.e., high parasitemia) or to maintain a good body condition. Conclusions: The effects of each of the predictors were bird species-specific, and we found that Diptera vectors were not the foremost influence in our host-vector-parasite system. Effects of forest habitat variables indicated that for most bird species in this study, habitat regulation of infection probability was more likely (i.e., E. rubecula, Fringilla coelebs, Sylvia atricapilla), whereas for Parus major habitat characteristics impacted first individuals' body condition and subsequently the probability of infection. Our findings emphasize the need of species-specific analyses and to use continuous forest structural parameters (e.g., the proportion of gap, south facing aspect) to better understand habitat and land use effects on host-vector-parasite dynamics.

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A Comparison of Microscopy and PCR Diagnostics for Low Intensity Infections of Haemosporidian Parasites in the Siberian TitPoecile cinctus

Cited by 11 publications

References 40 publications

Genetic diversity of avian haemosporidians in Malaysia: Cytochrome b lineages of the genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus (Haemosporida) from Selangor

Genetic diversity of avian haemosporidians in Malaysia: Cytochrome b lineages of the genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus (Haemosporida) from Selangor

A longitudinal study of age‐related changes inHaemoproteusinfection in a passerine bird

Effects of forest structure on the interaction between avian hosts, dipteran vectors and haemosporidian parasites

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