Occurrence of Paratanaisia confusa Freitas, 1951 in free-living guira cuckoo (Guira guira, Cuculiformes: Crotophagidae)

Abstract

This report presents a description of natural infection of an adult free-living guira cuckoo with Paratanaisia confusa. Histological and morphological evaluations of renal and parasite samples were performed. The morphological analysis of the parasites revealed spiny tegument, characteristic of P. confusa helminthes. Although macroscopic alterations were absent in the kidneys, the histopathology revealed parasites inside the collecting ducts causing dilatation and destruction of the lining epithelial cells in addition to small focal inflammatory infiltrates in the renal parenchyma. However, as the bird was free-living and naturally infected it was not possible to confirm if all these alterations were directly caused by the parasite presence or if they were related to causes other than the parasitism. Nonetheless, such findings indicate that these trematodes may have pathogenic potential in this host.Keywords: Histopathology, Trematoda, Digenea, Eucotylidae, new host record. ResumoA infecção de um anu-branco, de vida livre, por Paratanaisia confusa é descrita. Avaliações histológicas e morfológicas de amostras renais e dos parasitas foram realizadas. A análise morfológica dos parasitas revelou a presença de tegumento espinhoso, que é característico de P. confusa. Embora alterações renais macroscópicas estivessem ausentes, a histopatologia revelou a presença de parasitas no interior de ductos coletores, provocando dilatação destes e destruição das células epiteliais, além de discretos infiltrados inflamatórios focais no parênquima renal. Entretanto, como a ave era proveniente de vida livre e naturalmente infectada, não foi possível confirmar se todas as alterações observadas foram diretamente provocadas pela presença dos parasitas, ou se estavam relacionadas a outras causas. Todavia, esses achados indicam que os trematódeos dessa espécie possam ter potencial patogênico no hospedeiro estudado.Palavras-chave: Histopatologia, Trematoda, Digenea, Eucotylidae, novo registro de hospedeiro.

Renal trematode infection in wild birds: histopathological, morphological, and molecular aspects

“…Since the first description by Santos in 1934 (Giovannoni and Malheiro 1952), Paratanaisia spp. have been described in several avian species (Gomes et al 2005;Tavela et al 2014;Xavier et al 2015;Momo et al 2016, Santi et al 2017. However, most of the reports referred to P. bragai or to undetermined species (Paratanaisia spp.).…”

“…Since their original description, these digeneans have been recorded parasitizing several bird species, including those belonging to the orders Galliformes (Menezes et al 2001;Gomes et al 2005), Psittaciformes (Luppi et al 2007), Tinamiformes (Mapeli et al 2003;Momo and Werther 2013;Momo et al 2016), Ciconiiformes (Abdo and Sultan 2013), Section Editor: Christoph G. Grevelding Passeriformes (Unwin et al 2013;Tavela et al 2014), Columbiformes (Taroda et al 2013;Unwin et al 2013;Xavier et al 2015), and Cuculiformes (Santi et al 2017), suggesting low host specificity.…”

Occurrence of Paratanaisia spp. Freitas, 1951 in a domiciled cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus, Psittaciformes: Cacatuidae)

“…(KANEV et al, 2002), are parasites of the avian renal system. These trematodes have been reported in a wide range of bird species (GOMES et al, 2005;TAVELA et al, 2014;XAVIER et al, 2015;MOMO et al, 2016;SANTI et al, 2017), testifying to their low definitive host specificity. Infections have been described in both free-living and zoo-housed Psittaciformes, including macaws (Ara ararauna and Propyrrhura maracana), parakeets (Pyrrhura leucotis, Eupsittula aurea, Psittacara leucophthalmus, and Brotogeris chiriri), parrots (Amazona amazonica and Amazona aestiva), and cockatiels (N. hollandicus) (LUPPI et al, 2007;SILVA et al, 2016;SANTI et al, 2018).…”

“…Macroscopic and histological alterations have been described for natural and experimental infections with variable degrees of impairment (MENEZES et al, 2001;GOMES et al, 2005;ABDO & SULTAN, 2013;SILVA et al, 2016;SANTI et al, 2017). Enlargement with brown-yellowish discolorations and interstitial lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate have been described in Psittaciformes (LUPPI et al, 2007).…”

“…Dilated collecting ducts are frequently observed in Paratanaisia infections (ABDO & SULTAN, 2013;UNWIN et al, 2012;TAVELA et al, 2014;SANTI et al, 2017). The duct enlargement may develop due to the large body size of the parasites, although some authors have suggested it could be a compensatory mechanism to allow urine flow (PINTO et al, 2004).…”