Molecular Survey of Pathogens in Wild Amazon Parrot Nestlings: Implications for Conservation

South America presents the greatest Psittacidae diversity in the world, but also has the highest numbers of threatened parrot species. Recently, exotic viruses have been detected in captive native psittacine birds in Brazil, however, their impacts on the health of wild parrots are still unknown. We...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Frederico Fontanelli Vaz, Elenise Angelotti Bastos Sipinski, Gláucia Helena Fernandes Seixas, Nêmora Pauletti Prestes, Jaime Martinez, Tânia Freitas Raso
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
Series:Diversity
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/6/272
Description
Summary:South America presents the greatest Psittacidae diversity in the world, but also has the highest numbers of threatened parrot species. Recently, exotic viruses have been detected in captive native psittacine birds in Brazil, however, their impacts on the health of wild parrots are still unknown. We evaluated the presence of <i>Chlamydia psittaci</i>, <i>Psittacid alphaherpesvirus</i> 1 (PsHV-1), avipoxvirus and beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) in wild <i>Amazona aestiva, A. brasiliensis</i> and <i>A. pretrei</i> nestlings and in wild caught <i>A. aestiva</i> nestlings seized from illegal trade. Samples were collected from 205 wild nestlings and 90 nestlings from illegal trade and pathogen-specific PCR was performed for each sample. <i>Chlamydia</i> DNA prevalence was 4.7% in <i>A. aestiva</i> and 2.5% in <i>A. brasiliensis</i> sampled from the wild. Sequencing revealed that the <i>C. psittaci</i> sample belonged to the genotype A. PsHV-1, avipoxvirus and BFDV DNA was not detected. These results have conservation implications since they suggest that wild parrot populations have a low prevalence of the selected pathogens and, apparently, they were not reached by the exotic BFDV. Stricter health protocols should be established as condition to reintroduction of birds to the wild to guarantee the protection of Neotropical parrots.
ISSN:1424-2818