First Documentation of <i>Exophiala</i> spp. Isolation in Psittaciformes
2022
Gonçalo N. Marques | João B. Cota | Miriam O. Leal | Nuno U. Silva | Carla A. Flanagan | Lorenzo Crosta | Luís Tavares | Manuela Oliveira
Several fungi species are reported to act as opportunistic agents of infection in avian species. After the isolation of <i>Exophiala</i> spp., a dematiaceous fungal pathogen associated with a mucosal lesion in a military macaw (<i>Ara militar</i>), samples were collected from another 24 birds of the order Psittaciformes to study the possibility of <i>Exophiala</i> spp. being part of the commensal microbiota of these animals or its possible association with other clinical conditions. Swab samples were collected from the trachea and/or choanae of the birds and inoculated in Sabouraud chloramphenicol agar for fungal isolation. After incubation, fungal species were identified through their macroscopic and microscopic morphology. The presence of <i>Exophiala</i> spp. was identified in 15 of the 25 birds sampled and no statistical association was found between the clinical record of the birds and the fungal isolation. Our results suggest that <i>Exophiala</i> spp. can colonize the upper respiratory airways of psittaciform birds and has a low pathogenic potential in these animals. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of <i>Exophiala</i> spp. isolation from samples of the upper respiratory tract of Psittaciformes.
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