Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Mycobacterium genavense infection in imported blue-headed parrot case
By J.E. Shitaye et al.·Published in Veterinární Medicína·2010·Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic, CZ·View original on DOAJ →
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Original publication title: First isolation of Mycobacterium genavense in a blue headed parrot (Pionus menstruus) imported from Surinam (South America) to the Czech Republic: a case report
- Species:
- bird
Plain-English summary
A blue-headed parrot imported from Surinam suddenly died after being diagnosed with a Mycobacterium genavense infection, marking the first case of its kind in the Czech Republic. A detailed examination of the bird's intestines revealed severe inflammation and the presence of harmful bacteria. Although three young parakeets had brief contact with the parrot's contaminated drinking water, they showed no signs of infection after a year and were euthanized without any health issues. Unfortunately, the parrot did not survive, but the other birds remained healthy.
People also search for: blue-headed parrot infection · parrot sudden death causes · Mycobacterium genavense in birds
Abstract
In 2005 a Mycobacterium genavense infection was diagnosed in one blue-headed parrot (Pionus menstruus) imported from Surinam (South America), the first such incidence in the Czech Republic. The bird died suddenly. Histopathological examination revealed a diffuse granulomatous inflammatory reaction in the intestinal mucosa. Tissue sections of the intestines stained by Ziehl-Neelsen were microscopically positive for acid-fast bacilli. Culture examinations were made by the conventional solid media, the manual BD-BBL MGIT and the automated MGIT 960 liquid culture systems. We have detected mycobacteria by the automated MGIT 960 liquid culture system in the intestinal tissues after 92 days and on solid Herrold's Egg Yolk Medium without Mycobactin J after 270 days. The manual BD-BBL MGIT liquid culture and the conventional culture system revealed mycobacteria after 150 days of cultivation from three and two tissues samples, respectively. M. genavense was identified by HAIN Life Science kits (GmbH, Germany) and was found to be the cause of death for the parrot, which was one of 14 exotic birds kept by its keeper. From the environment M. a. hominissuis was isolated only, which was documented by antibody detection of this member of the M. avium complex in sera samples of five birds. Three two month old common pet parakeets (Melopsittacus undulatus) were for one day in contact with drinking water contaminated by the liver suspension from the infected bird. After 12 months they were euthanized. Subsequent culture was negative for the presence of mycobacteria and histopathological examinations showed no granulomatous inflammatory reaction or any other pathological findings.
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Search related cases →Original publication on DOAJ: https://doi.org/10.17221/2927-VETMED