Fatal epicarditis in a hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) a red‐listed bird of high conservation concern in Britain associated with Cyathostoma species and Escherichia coli infection

Helminth and ectoparasitic faunas of the Harris’s hawk, Parabuteo unicinctus (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae), in Chile: new data on host-parasite associations for Neotropical raptors

“…The species of this genus have a direct life cycle, although they could use earthworms as paratenic hosts (Anderson, 2000;Atkinson et al, 2008). These nematodes were found to cause severe pneumonia and pyogranulomatous air sacculitis, which are often associated with high parasitic loads (20-100 worms) (Lavoie et al, 1999;Atkinson et al, 2008;Vaughan-Higgins et al, 2013). However, in the present study, there were no macroscopic pathological changes associated with its presence, probably because of the low parasitic load.…”

“…Raptors seem to be tolerant to the presence of helminth parasites; however, under certain circumstances, such as stress, there could be severe health impairment on these hosts (Illescas Gomez et al, 1993;Krone, 2000;Krone & Cooper, 2002;Santoro et al, 2010;Komorová et al, 2017). Although some isolated helminths have reportedly been the cause of disease (e.g., Cyathostoma, Cladotaenia, and Centrorhynchus) with evident lesions (Lavoie et al, 1999;Krone, 2000;Atkinson et al, 2008;Santoro et al, 2010;Vaughan-Higgins et al, 2013), the birds necropsied in our study did not show any signs of pathological lesions associated with the parasites. This finding could have been associated with the low parasitic load recorded here.…”

“…Additionally, parasitism can be costly to the host, as pathological changes in tissues, immune response, and loss of nutrients may occur (Krone & Cooper, 2002;Atkinson et al, 2008). However, the possible effects of parasitism on the health of birds of prey is still largely unknown, as particular records have been identified in certain species (Lavoie et al, 1999;Krone & Cooper, 2002;Atkinson et al, 2008;Santoro et al, 2010;Vaughan-Higgins et al, 2013).…”

Taxonomic status of Cyathostoma nematodes (Nematoda: Syngaminae) parasitizing respiratory tracts of birds of prey and owls in Europe and North America: how many species are there?

“…Usually, occurrence of these nematodes is subclinical, but heavy infections are often associated with bacterial and/or fungal infections. Several reports of morbidity and mortality of birds, particularly birds of prey and owls caused by infection of Cyathostoma are available (e.g., Hunter et al, 1993;Lavoie et al, 1999;Krone et al, 2007;Vaughan-Higgins et al, 2013). Thus, understanding of all aspects of ecology and taxonomy of these syngamid nematodes has great practical importance for veterinary and conservation reasons in general.…”

“…(Hovorkonema) variegatum (Creplin, 1849) and C. (Cyathostoma) lari Blanchard, 1849. Moreover, several reports on the occurrence of Cyathostoma nematodes determined only to the genus level in birds of prey and owls are available (e.g., Mumcuoglu & Müller, 1974;Hunter et al,1993;Lavoie et al, 1999;Vaughan-Higgins et al, 2013). Among the mentioned species, C. (Cyathostoma) lari is a typical parasite of gulls, only occasionally reported from birds of prey (Simpson & Harris, 1992).…”