Harris’ Hawk ( Parabuteo Unicinctus ) as a Source of Pathogenic Human Yeasts: A Potential Risk to Human Health

Abstract

Aim: Invasive human fungal infections have been a serious public health problem among immunocompromised patients. Wild bird species are related to the eco-epidemiology of some infectious diseases, mainly Cryptococcosis, Histoplasmosis, Aspergillosis, Chlamydiosis, Salmonellosis and allergic diseases. Falconry is the art of training predators for hunting. Nowadays, birds of prey are used as pets, which brings new sources of infections to humans. Materials & methods: We identified fungal pathogenic yeasts, Candida parapsilosis, Debaryomyces hansenii and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. Conclusion: Study new environmental niches of human pathogens is vitally important to establish preventive actions with the purpose of minimizing the risks of human contamination. Our work describes yeast microbiota from the excreta of Parabuteo unicinctus as a potential hazard for human disease.

Aislamiento e identificación de hongos y levaduras en excretas de garza ganadera (Bubulcus ibis).

“…Rodhotorula spp. es una levadura que normalmente se encuentra en el medio ambiente y ha sido aislado de excretas de aves en un 6.66% [14]; en un 13.05% en agapornis (Agapornis spp) mascotas [25], mientras que en el presente trabajo fue aislado en un 1.2 %, también se ha aislado del halcón de Harris (Parabuteo unicinctus) [26]. La importancia de esta levadura radica ser un patógeno oportunista emergente, así como en la participación de cuadros clínicos relacionados con meningitis, endocarditis, peritonitis y exoftalmitis [27].…”

Comparative Analysis of Capsular and Secreted Polysaccharides Produced by Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Cryptococcus neoformans

“…Environmental (SA1, PO1, VG4) [49] and clinical (RC1) Rhodotorula strains were obtained from Coleção de Fungos Patogênicos (Pathogenic Fungi Collection) at the Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas, Fiocruz, RJ, Brazil [49,50]. For comparison, the standard strain of C. neoformans type strain H99 (available through the American Type Culture Collection catalog number 208821), which was originally isolated in February 1978 by Dr. John Perfect at Duke University Medical Center from a 28-year-old male with Hodgkin's disease, was used as a control.…”