Isosporose sistêmica em 3 (três) espécies de passeriformes de cativeiro: sporophila maximiliani (bicudo-verdadeiro), serinus canaria (canário-belga) e saltator similis (trinca-ferro)

Abstract

Systemic isosporosis (atoxoplasmosis) is a disease caused by host-specific apicomplexan parasites of the genus Isospora, which manifest systemically and have a portion of their life cycle outside the intestine. The objective of the study was to report histological changes along with molecular findings of systemic isosporosis in fifteen Passeriformes of three different species: Sporophila maximiliani (great-billed seed finch), Serinus canaria (Belgian canary), and Saltator similis (green-winged saltator) in captivity from different properties in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Between the years 2017 and 2022, birds from various locations in Minas Gerais State, Brazil, were received at the Veterinary School of UFMG for a complete necropsy examination, including fragments of tissues fixed in 10% buffered formalin for histopathological examination. Histologically, in the lamina propria of the intestines of 13 animals, there was a moderate to marked lymphocytic and histioplasmacytic inflammatory infiltrate with rare heterophils. Merozoites of Isospora spp. were present in the cytoplasm of macrophages and extracellularly. Histological changes in the liver, lung, spleen, and heart were also described. DNA was extracted from frozen tissues of one bird (green-winged saltator), and a PCR assay amplified Isospora spp. DNA. Systemic isosporosis affects many species of passerines; however, this is the first documented report in great-billed seed finch. Histopathological examination proved effective for the diagnosis of protozoal infection, consistent with systemic isosporosis.