DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ATRICHOMONASISOLATE FROM A REHABILITATED BALD EAGLE (HALIAEETUS LEUCOCEPHALUS)

Abstract

A hatching-year bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was presented for clinical examination after being found unable to fly. Upon admission, routine wet-mount microscopy detected no trichomonads. Five months later, oral cavity inspection found no abnormalities, but the eagle was swabbed for research on trichomonosis in maritime birds. The swab was used to inoculate an InPouch TF culture and trichomonads were visible within 24 hr. Genotyping (ITS) revealed a Trichomonas isolate that was 100% identical to an isolate from a bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) from the Czech Republic. The eagle was treated with metronidazole (50 mg/kg q 12h PO for 5 consecutive days). Following treatment, the eagle was swabbed and the inoculated InPouch TF culture was monitored daily for 1 wk. No trichomonads were observed. Rehabilitation centers interested in surveillance should consider combining the InPouch TF technique with clinical inspection of live birds to confirm trichomonosis and for future research.

Adaptation of the classical end-point ITS-PCR for the diagnosis of avian trichomonosis to a real-time PCR reveals Bonelli’s eagle as a new host for Trichomonas gypaetinii

“…However, according to the results obtained in this study, end-point PCR ITS would be a suitable alternative in those laboratories that do not have a real-time thermal cycler. Additionally, we report for the first time a Bonelli's eagle nestling infected with T. gypaetinii, a species more related to scavenger birds, and occasionally found in other eagle species (Kelly-Clark et al 2013;Tomikawa et al 2021).…”

“…Its sequence had greater genetic similarity (up to 97%) with T. vaginalis and T. stableri than with T. gallinae (Martínez-Díaz et al 2015 ). So far, T. gypaetinii had only been found in bearded vultures ( Gypaetus barbatus ) (Grabensteiner et al 2010 ), Egyptian vultures ( Neophron percnopterus ), black vultures ( Aegypius monachus ) (Martínez-herrero et al 2014 ; Martínez-Díaz et al 2015 ; Martínez-Herrero et al 2019 ), a bald eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) (Kelly-Clark et al 2013 ), Steller’s sea eagles ( Haliaeetus pelagicus ), and white-tailed sea eagles ( Haliaeetus albicilla ) (Tomikawa et al 2021 ) but never in Bonelli’s eagles. The Bonelli’s eagle nestling infected with T. gypaetinii was asymptomatic.…”

Avian Oropharyngeal Trichomonosis: Treatment, Failures and Alternatives, a Systematic Review

“…Debilitated bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) with oropharyngeal lesions were successfully treated with dimetridazole at doses of 50 mg/kg or total doses of 375-500 mg/bird, and in all cases, 1 day of treatment was not enough to eliminate the infection, and the authors needed at least two or three doses separated by 1-8 days, depending on the situation, to eliminate the trichomonads [27,28]. Besides, one asymptomatic bald eagle was treated with 50 mg/kg/12 h of metronidazole for five days to eliminate the infection [29]. Additionally, a debilitated cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) with mild oral lesions was treated with metronidazole (50 mg/kg, five days), although the treatment needed to be repeated to eliminate the infection [30].…”

Multidecade Mortality and a Homolog of Hepatitis C Virus in Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), the National Bird of the USA

“…Among 2,980 bald eagle carcasses submitted to the U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, between 1982 and 2013, only 5.2% of deaths were attributed to infectious diseases 12 . Documented infectious diseases of bald eagles include: ectoparasitoses 18,19 , helminthoses 20–24 , aspergillosis 25 , coccidiosis 26 , toxoplasmosis 27–29 , sarcocystosis 30–32 , leucocytozoonosis 33 , avian malaria 34–36 , avian cholera 37 , mycobacteriosis 38,39 , trichomoniasis 40 , other bacterioses 41–43 , avian pox 44 , herpes 45 , avian influenza 46,47 , Newcastle disease 48 , eastern equine encephalitis 49 , and West Nile encephalitis 15 . However, many of these infections are known from only single cases or case clusters and affected birds often present with comorbidities, such that the importance of infection for bald eagle population health remains unclear.…”