Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Parrot with brain inflammation and gut nerve damage
By Gomez, G et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·2011·Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Granulomatous encephalomyelitis and intestinal ganglionitis in a spectacled Amazon parrot (Amazona albifrons) infected with Mycobacterium genavense.
- Species:
- bird
Plain-English summary
A 30-year-old male spectacled Amazon parrot was brought to the vet after showing signs of ataxia (loss of coordination), head shaking, weight loss, and seizures for two weeks. Unfortunately, the examination revealed severe damage to the brain and intestines caused by a rare infection with Mycobacterium genavense, a type of bacteria. This infection affected the parrot's nervous system and digestive system, leading to significant health issues. Sadly, despite the findings, the outcome was not favorable, and the parrot's condition was severe due to the unusual nature of the infection.
People also search for: parrot seizures · Amazon parrot weight loss · Mycobacterium infection in birds
Abstract
An approximately 30-year-old male spectacled Amazon parrot (Amazona albifrons) was presented with a 2-week history of ataxia, head shaking, weight loss and seizures. Gross findings on necropsy examination included atrophy of the musculature, ruffled feathers and minimal epicardial and abdominal fat. Microscopically, there were perivascular cuffs of macrophages with fewer lymphocytes in the grey and white matter of the brain and spinal cord. These lesions were accompanied by gliosis and mild vacuolation of the white matter. In the small intestine, up to 70% of the intestinal ganglia were effaced by infiltrates of macrophages and fewer lymphocytes. The intestinal lamina propria contained multiple inflammatory aggregates of a similar nature. Ziehl-Neelsen staining revealed the presence of numerous bacilli within the cytoplasm of macrophages in the central nervous system (CNS) and enteric ganglia. Amplification of the DNAJ gene confirmed a mycobacterial infection and subsequent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using a species-specific primer confirmed the aetiology as Mycobacterium genavense. Infection of the CNS with Mycobacterium spp. is uncommon and has not been previously reported in a parrot. This case is unusual in that the organism exhibited tropism for neural tissue.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20888000/