Hemosporídeos em aves atendidas no Hospital Veterinário da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, MT

Abstract

Hemosporidae is heteroxenous, cosmopolitan protozoa that infect different groups of animals, including birds, using blood-sucking insects as vectors. The group of these protozoa composed of the genera Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon, and Fallisia is found infecting birds in nature, but the genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus are the most studied. Although these agents generally do not cause disease, manifesting only as subclinical cases, some evidence shows that these parasites can exert selective pressure on their hosts, interfering with survival, reproductive behavior, and the bird community. Therefore, this study aimed to detect infection by Plasmodium spp. and Haemoproteus spp. in birds collected from September 2016 to March 2024, through blood extension parasitological microscope examination and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) examination of blood samples from birds in the state of Mato Grosso, treated in the hospital routine of the wild animal sector of the Veterinary Hospital of the Federal University of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, MT, followed by determination of parasitemia, morphological and molecular characterization, through sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The detection of Plasmodium spp. and/or Haemoproteus spp. occurred in 73 of the 352 birds (20.74%) through blood extension and/or molecular analysis. This work contributed to the knowledge of the prevalence and diversity of haemosporidae in groups of birds that are uncommon in studies of avian haemosporidae in Brazil. It showed the circulation of fifteen different lineages of Plasmodium spp. and Haemoproteus spp. in the state's avifauna, six of which are new, in addition to describing a new species of Haemoproteus in Tyto furcata. Furthermore, it reinforced the importance of including the diagnosis of avian haemosporidae in assessing the health profile of birds in a hospital environment.