The aim of this study was to describe parasitological, microbiological, and pathological findings associated with the isolation of Aspergillus species in 94？clinically diseased captive falcons from Dubai. Concomitant agents and/or diseases were identified in 64？cases, causing either single ( ) or multiple coinfections ( ). Diagnoses found more often in association with aspergillosis were chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS) ( ), Caryospora sp. ( ), Serratospiculum seurati infestation ( ), cestodiasis ( ), bumblefoot ( ), trematodosis due to Strigea falconispalumbi ( ), trichomoniasis ( ), Babesia shortti ( ), Mannheimia (Pastorella) haemolytica ( ), interstitial hepatitis ( ), Escherichia coli ( ), and Clostridium perfringens enterotoxemia ( ). Compared with a control group of 2000？diseased falcons without evidence of aspergillosis, the prevalence of Babesia shortti, CFIDS, Mannheimia (Pastorella) haemolytica, Escherichia coli, and falcon herpes virus infection was conspicuously higher in association with aspergillosis. These entities may be considered suitable candidates as predisposing factors for the mycosis. 1. Introduction Aspergillosis is considered the most common systemic mycosis in birds [1] and the most important cause of death in captive falcons [2, 3]. Infections with Aspergillus fumigatus and, less commonly, with A. flavus, A. terreus, and A. niger apparently share the same clinical importance in raptors held in captivity [4]. Clinical signs in birds are nonspecific and include reduction in appetite, weight loss, dyspnoea, lethargy, and death [5]. Avian aspergillosis involves mainly the lower respiratory tract [6]. This also occurs in falcons, in which the majority of reported cases are isolated from the air sacs [4]. These fungi are ubiquitous, but they become pathogenic mainly under stressful conditions, producing opportunistic infections as a result of inhalation of Aspergillus spores coupled with compromised immune functions in the host or in association with prolonged diseases [6–8]. Poor ventilation, malnutrition, toxins, vaccinations, long-term use of antibiotics and corticosteroids, hot-humid climate, and stress-associated conditions, such as recent capture, training, and change of ownership, are frequently mentioned as environmental precipitating factors influencing the onset and duration of aspergillosis in falcons [7–10]. Unfortunately, what actually causes immunosuppression and/or prolonged disease is rarely mentioned in the literature, because dual or multiple infections with potentially immunocompromising or
References
[1]
R. A. Kunkle and R. B. Rimler, “Early pulmonary lesions in turkeys produced by nonviable Aspergillus fumigatus and/or Pasteurella multocida lipopolysaccharide,” Avian Diseases, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 770–780, 1998.
[2]
J. E. Cooper, Veterinary Aspects of Captive Birds of Prey, Standfast Press, Cherington, UK, 2nd edition, 1985.
[3]
J. H. Samour, “Veterinary considerations during the hunting trip,” in Raptor Biomedicine III, J. T. Lumeij, J. D. Remple, P. T. Redig, M. Lierz, and J. E. Cooper, Eds., pp. 267–274, Zoological Education Network, Lake Worth, Fla, USA, 2000.
[4]
C. D. Silvanose, T. A. Bailey, and A. Di Somma, “Susceptibility of fungi isolated from the respiratory tract of falcons to amphotericin B, itraconazole and voriconazole,” Veterinary Record, vol. 159, no. 9, pp. 282–284, 2006.
[5]
J. Pérez, P. M. García, A. Méndez, R. Astorga, I. Luque, and C. Tarradas, “Outbreak of aspergillosis in a flock of adult ostriches (Struthio camelus),” Veterinary Record, vol. 153, no. 4, pp. 124–125, 2003.
[6]
T. N. Campbell, “Mycotic diseases,” in Clinical Avian Medicine and Surgery, G. J. Harrison and L. R. Harrison, Eds., vol. 986, pp. 464–466, W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia, Pa, USA.
[7]
S. L. Deem, “Fungal diseases of birds of prey,” Veterinary Clinics of North America, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 363–376, 2003.
[8]
P. Redig, “Aspergillosis,” in Avian Medicine, J. Samour, Ed., pp. 275–287, Elsevier Science Limited, Edimburgh, Scotland, 2003.
[9]
S. Nardoni, R. Ceccherelli, G. Rossi, and F. Mancianti, “Aspergillosis in Larus cachinnans micaellis: survey of eight cases,” Mycopathologia, vol. 161, no. 5, pp. 317–321, 2006.
[10]
S. Mukaratirwa, “Outbreak of disseminated zygomycosis and concomitant pulmonary aspergillosis in breeder layer cockerels,” Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series B, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 51–53, 2006.
[11]
G. Kaliner and J. E. Cooper, “Dual infection of an African fish eagle with acid-fast bacilli and anAspergillus sp,” Journal of Wildlife Diseases, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 51–55, 1973.
[12]
J. H. Samour and M. A. Peirce, “Babesia shortti infection in a saker falcon (Falco cherrug),” Veterinary Record, vol. 139, no. 7, pp. 167–168, 1996.
[13]
L. Carrasco, J. C. Gómez-Villamandos, and H. E. Jensen, “Systemic candidosis and concomitant aspergillosis and zygomycosis in two Amazon parakeets (Amazona aestiva),” Mycoses, vol. 41, no. 7-8, pp. 297–301, 1998.
[14]
W. Tarello, “Chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome associated with Staphylococcus spp. bacteraemia responsive to thiacetarsamide sodium in eight birds of prey,” Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series B, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 267–281, 2001.
[15]
W. Tarello, “A possible relationship between bumblefoot responsive to potassium arsenite and micrococci in the blood of three birds of prey,” Acta Veterinaria Hungarica, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 143–150, 2002.
[16]
R. Wernery, U. Wernery, J. Kinne, and J. Samour, Colour Atlas of Falcon Medicine, Hannover; Schlutersche Verlagsgesellschaft mBH & Co, Berlin, Germany, 2004.
[17]
C. Silvanose, “Candidiasis,” in Avian Medicine, J. Samour, Ed., pp. 287–289, Elsevier Science Limited, Edimburgh, Scotland, 2003.
[18]
F. Khasawneh, T. Mohamad, M. K. Moughrabieh, Z. Lai, J. Ager, and A. O. Soubani, “Isolation of Aspergillus in critically ill patients: a potential marker of poor outcome,” Journal of Critical Care, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 322–327, 2006.
[19]
W. Tarello, “Lymphoid leukaemia in a saker falcon,” Veterinary Record, vol. 158, no. 6, p. 212, 2006.
[20]
A. C. Purvis, “Immunodepression in Babesia microti infections,” Parasitology, vol. 75, no. 2, pp. 197–205, 1977.
[21]
W. Tarello, “Effective imidocarb dipropionate therapy for Babesia shortti in falcons,” Veterinary Record, vol. 158, no. 7, pp. 239–240, 2006.
[22]
W. Tarello and M. J. Yabsley, “Is babesiosis in falcons more common than currently thought?” in Proceedings of the 9th European Association of Avian Veterinarians (EAAV) Conference, Zurich, Switzerland, March 2007.
[23]
W. Tarello, “Babesiosis as an underlying factor influencing the severity and duration of perianal fistulas in three dogs,” Revue de Médecine Vétérinaire, vol. 152, no. 1, pp. 83–88, 2001.
[24]
W. Tarello, “Cutaneous lesions in dogs with Dirofilaria (Nochtiella) repens infestation and concurrent tick-borne transmitted diseases,” Veterinary Dermatology, vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 267–274, 2002.
[25]
P. Zwart, “Bacterial diseases,” in Avian Medicine, J. Samour, Ed., pp. 252–263, Elsevier Science Limited, Edimburgh, Scotland, 2003.
[26]
M. J. Van der Ven, J. W. Lenders, A. A. Baas, A. C. Holdrinet, and J. W. Van der Meer, “Idiopathic CD4+T lymphocytopenia,” Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde, vol. 141, no. 6, pp. 298–301, 1997.
[27]
M. Nakahira, S. Matsumoto, N. Mukushita, and H. Nakatani, “Primary aspergillosis of the larynx associated with CD4+T lymphocytopenia,” Journal of Laryngology and Otology, vol. 116, no. 4, pp. 304–306, 2002.
[28]
W. Tarello, “Immunological anomalies and thrombocytopenia in 117？dogs and cats diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS),” Acta Veterinaria Hungarica, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 61–72, 2003.
[29]
W. Tarello, “Complete remission after treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) in 118 falcons using potassium arsenite 0.05%,” in Proceedings of the World Conference on Dosing of Anti-infectives (WCDA '04), p. 138, Nurnberg, Germany, September 2004.
[30]
W. Tarello, “Chronic fatigue syndrome in horses: diagnosis and treatment of 3 cases,” Vet On-Line, 2000, http://www.priory.com/vet/cfsdogs.htm.
[31]
W. Tarello, “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) associated with Staphylococcus spp. bacteremia, responsive to potassium arsenite 0.5% in a veterinary surgeon and his coworking wife, handling with CFS animal cases,” Comparative Immunology, Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 233–246, 2001.
[32]
W. Tarello, “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) in 15？dogs and cats with specific biochemical and microbiological anomalies,” Comparative Immunology, Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 165–185, 2001.
[33]
W. Tarello, “Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) associated with Staphylococcus spp. bacteremia, responsive to thiacetarsamide sodium in 7？dogs,” Revue de Médecine Vétérinaire, vol. 152, no. 11, pp. 785–792, 2001.
[34]
W. Tarello, “Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in cats : symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of 7？cases,” Revue de Médecine Vétérinaire, vol. 152, no. 11, pp. 793–804, 2001.
[35]
M. Ferrer and F. Hiraldo, “Human-associated staphylococcal infection in Spanish imperial eagles,” Journal of Wildlife Diseases, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 534–536, 1995.
[36]
L. Espino, R. Bérmudez, L. E. Fidalgo, A. González, N. Mi？o, and M. I. Quiroga, “Meningoencephalitis associated with Staphylococcus warneri in a dog,” Journal of Small Animal Practice, vol. 47, no. 10, pp. 598–602, 2006.
[37]
S. A. Balajee, M. Weaver, A. Imhof, J. Gribskov, and K. A. Marr, “Aspergillus fumigatus variant with decreased susceptibility to multiple antifungals,” Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 1198–1203, 2004.
[38]
I. F. Keymer, “Diseases of birds of prey,” Veterinary Record, vol. 90, no. 21, pp. 579–594, 1972.
