Malaria in a captive emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) from Florida

Severe anemia and intraerythrocytic stages of an unusual Plasmodium sp. were identified in the blood of a 5-month-old female emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) that had a 4-week history of malaise. Examination of blood taken 3 days prior to the death of the bird revealed a packed cell volume of 10%. Ery...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Avian diseases 1996-04, Vol.40 (2), p.477-479
Main Authors: Fox, J.H. (University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.), Greiner, E.C, Bain, P, Jones, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ANEMIA
ANEMIE
Animals
Apicomplexa - isolation & purification
Birds
Blood
Case Reports
DIAGNOSTIC
DIAGNOSTICO
EMEU
EMU
Emus
Erythrocytes
Erythrocytes - parasitology
ESTUDIOS DE CASOS PRACTICOS
ETUDE DE CAS
Female
FLORIDA
FLORIDE
Gametocytes
MALARIA
Malaria, Avian - parasitology
Merozoites
Parasitemia
Parasites
PLASMODIUM
Plasmodium - growth & development
Plasmodium - isolation & purification
Schizonts
SINTOMAS
SYMPTOME
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Summary:Severe anemia and intraerythrocytic stages of an unusual Plasmodium sp. were identified in the blood of a 5-month-old female emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) that had a 4-week history of malaise. Examination of blood taken 3 days prior to the death of the bird revealed a packed cell volume of 10%. Erythrocytes showed a marked regenerative response. Approximately 4% of erythrocytes had intracytoplasmic inclusions, mainly within immature cells, resembling malarial parasites. The schizonts were a combination of the Haemamoeba and Huffia subgenera type with 8-16 merozoites in mature forms. The gametocytes were elongate. The abnormal morphology was probably a reflection of a new host-parasite relationship. Exoerythrocytic parasite stages were not identified at necropsy. The anemia was tentatively attributed to the Plasmodium infection
ISSN:0005-2086
1938-4351
DOI:10.2307/1592249