A necropsy was conducted on a female grey-headed parrot (Poicephalus robustus suahelicus) that died following signs of depression, ruffled feathers, and inappetence. Microscopic examination revealed the presence of hemoprotozoa in the liver. A nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene of Haemoproteus species, Plasmodium species, and Leucocytozoon species, was performed on frozen tissue samples collected at necropsy. The hemoprotozoa were identified by PCR analysis as Leucocytozoon species. Hemoprotozoa are rarely reported in African parrots, and this is the first report of a Leucocytozooon species infection in a Poicephalus robustus suahelicus.
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24 May 2019
Fatal Leucocytozoon Infection in a Captive Grey-headed Parrot (Poicephalus robustus suahelicus)
Livio Galosi,
Frine E. Scaglione,
Gian Enrico Magi,
Susan C. Cork,
Michael A. Peirce,
Stefano Ferraro,
Laura Starvaggi Cucuzza,
Francesca T. Cannizzo,
Giacomo Rossi
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Avian
grey-headed parrot
Hemoprotozoa
Leucocytozoon species
necropsy
Poicephalus robustus suahelicus
