Contracaecum pelagicum and C. plagiaticium (Nematoda: Anisakidae) infection in Magellanic penguins (Sphenisciformes: Spheniscidae) on the coast of Rio de Janeiro State

Abstract

Pesq. Vet. Bras. 33(1): 89-93, janeiro 2013 89 doença induzida por Contracaecum plagiaticium e Contracaecum pelagicum em pinguins-de-Magalhães, Spheniscus magellanicus Foster, 1781 (Sphenisciformes: Spheniscidae), na costa do Rio de Janeiro, foram relatadas. Parasitos do gênero Contracaecum estavam presentes em todos os 11 animais estudados. Co-infecção por Contracaecum pelagicum e C. plagiaticium foi observada em três hospedeiros (27,27%). Achados macroscópicos de necropsia incluíram hiperemia do esôfago e/ou estômago em seis animais (54,54%). Um desses animais (9,09%), parasitado por C. plagiaticium, apresentou área hemorrágica na mucosa gás-trica. Os achados histopatológicos demonstraram esofagite com segmento de helminto inserido no epitélio, e discreto infiltrado inflamatório misto com heterófilos e células mononucleares. Estes parasitos podem estar associados a doenças, implicando em morte dos pinguins.TERMOS DE INDEXAÇÃO: Pinguim-de-Magalhães, Contracaecum plagiaticium, Contracaecum pelagicum, patologia. INTRODUCTIONPenguins are considered sentinels of the oceans, thus studies of these birds provide knowledge of the source and in- ) were reported on the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Parasites of the genus Contracaecum were present in all of the 11 studied animals. Co-infections by Csontracaecum pelagicum and C. plagiaticium were observed in three hosts (27.27%). Gross lesions included hyperemia of the esophagus and/or stomach in six animals (54.54%). One of these animals (9.09%), parasitized by C. plagiaticium, presented a hemorrhagic area in the gastric mucosa. Histopathological findings demonstrated esophagitis with helminthes segments inserted in the epithelium, showing discrete mixed inflammatory infiltrate of heterophils and mononuclear cells. These parasites may be associated with other diseases, implicating in death of the penguins.

Molecular and morphological characterization of Contracaecum pelagicum (Nematoda) parasitizing Spheniscus magellanicus (Chordata) from Brazilian waters

“…The species was first described from albatrosses from Australia and, since then the species was reported in South America from Thalassarche melanophris (=Diomedea melanophris (Temminck, 1828), the South American penguin, Spheniscus magellanicus (Forster, 1781), Spheniscus humboldti Meyen, 1834 and Sula leucogaster Boddaert, 1783 (LENT;FREITAS, 1948;SANTOS, 1984;MANN, 1992;SILVA et al, 2005;GARBIN et al, 2007;GONZÁLEZ-ACUÑA et al, 2008;EDERLI et al, 2009;DIAZ et al, 2010;PRADO et al, 2011;YÁÑEZ et al, 2012;REZENDE et al, 2013;CAMPOS et al, 2013).…”

Occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites in Spheniscus magellanicus (Foster, 1781) located in Pontal do Sul, PR, Brazil

“…Gastrointestinal parasites are a sanitary problem in penguins, affecting their behavior, productivity, reproduction and also population growth (Fonseca et al, 2001;Mäder et al, 2010). In a study performed in the state of Rio de Janeiro, 100% of the animals showed a high prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths (Campos et al, 2013) (Anderson, 2000). The digenetic trematode genus Cardiocephaloides (Sudarikov, 1959) is the second most frequent parasite in S. magellanicus (Mäder et al, 2010).…”

Sphenisciformes, Gaviiformes, Podicipediformes, Procellariiformes, and Pelecaniformes

“…Campos et al (2013);; de Melo et al(2012); Dronen et al (2003); Dyer et al (2002); Fonteneau and Cook (2013); Jiménez-Uzcátegui et al (2015); Ladds (2009); Overstreet and Curran (2005); Rubio-Godoy et al (2011);Weekes (1982) …”