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Volume 16
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10.3390/d16020121
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Article

Detection of Avian Haemosporidian Parasites in Wild Birds in Slovakia

by
Lenka Minichová
1,
Vladimír Slobodník
2,
Roman Slobodník
3,
Milan Olekšák
4,
Zuzana Hamšíková
5,
Ľudovít Škultéty
1 and
Eva Špitalská
1,*
1
Institute of Virology, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy Sciences, Dúbravska cesta 9, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovakia
2
State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic, Dlhá 3, 971 01 Prievidza, Slovakia
3
Raptor Protection of Slovakia, Trhová 54, 841 04 Bratislava, Slovakia
4
National Park Slovak Karst, Hámossyho 188, 049 51 Brzotín, Slovakia
5
Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy Sciences, Dúbravska cesta 9, 845 06 Bratislava, Slovakia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Diversity 2024, 16(2), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16020121
Submission received: 11 December 2023 / Revised: 9 February 2024 / Accepted: 11 February 2024 / Published: 13 February 2024
(This article belongs to the Section Microbial Diversity and Culture Collections)
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Abstract

Haemosporidians are a group of vector-borne parasites belonging to the order Haemosporida. These parasites infect avian hosts and require blood-sucking insects (Diptera) for transmission. The occurrence and diversity of haemosporidian parasites are shaped primarily by the specificity of the parasite and the susceptibility of the host/vector. In this study, the presence and distribution of haemosporidians in blood samples from birds in urbanized and natural habitats were estimated using microscopic and molecular approaches. Birds in urbanized habitats were infected with four different species of Plasmodium, P. relictum, P. vaughani, P. matutinum, and P. circumflexum, and one species of Haemoproteus, H. parabelopolskyi, and Leucocytozoon sp. The species H. attenuatus, H. concavocentralis, H. minutus, H. pallidus, H. noctuae, and H. tartakovskyi were additionally identified in birds in natural habitats. Typically, juvenile birds are essential markers of parasite species transmitted in the study area. The juveniles in the urbanized habitats carried P. relictum, P. vaughani, P. circumflexum, H. parabelopolskyi, and Leucocytozoon species. The most abundant parasite was H. parabelopolskyi, which was found in both habitat types. The prevalence of Haemoproteus/Plasmodium species determined by nested PCR in birds in natural habitats (43.80%; 53/121) was significantly greater than that in birds in urbanized habitats (21.94%; 43/196) (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the infection rate of Leucocytozoon sp. between the habitat types (p > 0.05; 10/121 vs. 19/196).
Keywords: Plasmodium; Haemoproteus; Leucocytozoon; haemosporida; avian diseases; Slovakia; juveniles Plasmodium; Haemoproteus; Leucocytozoon; haemosporida; avian diseases; Slovakia; juveniles

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MDPI and ACS Style

Minichová, L.; Slobodník, V.; Slobodník, R.; Olekšák, M.; Hamšíková, Z.; Škultéty, Ľ.; Špitalská, E. Detection of Avian Haemosporidian Parasites in Wild Birds in Slovakia. Diversity 2024, 16, 121. https://doi.org/10.3390/d16020121

AMA Style

Minichová L, Slobodník V, Slobodník R, Olekšák M, Hamšíková Z, Škultéty Ľ, Špitalská E. Detection of Avian Haemosporidian Parasites in Wild Birds in Slovakia. Diversity. 2024; 16(2):121. https://doi.org/10.3390/d16020121

Chicago/Turabian Style

Minichová, Lenka, Vladimír Slobodník, Roman Slobodník, Milan Olekšák, Zuzana Hamšíková, Ľudovít Škultéty, and Eva Špitalská. 2024. "Detection of Avian Haemosporidian Parasites in Wild Birds in Slovakia" Diversity 16, no. 2: 121. https://doi.org/10.3390/d16020121

APA Style

Minichová, L., Slobodník, V., Slobodník, R., Olekšák, M., Hamšíková, Z., Škultéty, Ľ., & Špitalská, E. (2024). Detection of Avian Haemosporidian Parasites in Wild Birds in Slovakia. Diversity, 16(2), 121. https://doi.org/10.3390/d16020121

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