Publicação
Paretic syndrome in gulls (Laridae) in the south of Portugal
| Resumo: | RIAS, a Portuguese wildlife rehabilitation centre located in Algarve, has been admitting a substantial high number of seagulls, since its opening in October of 2009, with consistent clinical presentations pertaining to a paretic syndrome without cues of a particular disease. This preliminary study describes the clinical signs and microbiological, parasitological, toxicological and pathologic findings of paretic gulls received between 2009 and 2012. It tries to understand if there is an association between the manifestation of this disease and the different species and age classes affected. It seeks to determine possible relations between the geographic distribution of the cases and specific potentially problematic areas or human activities. All in order to additionally determine a probable cause for this disease taking into consideration the species affected, region where the animals were rescued and diseases that could explain the findings observed like: Newcastle disease, Salmonellosis, Aspergillosis, Sarcocystosis, Botulism, Algal toxicosis, Copper/Lead/Mercury intoxication, Organophosphorus/Carbamate poisoning and Thiamine deficiency. Additionally, a treatment trial with three therapeutic protocols (activated charcoal, fluid therapy and thiamine supplementation) was attempted to evaluate their influence in the outcome of the rehabilitation process and their value as a tentative diagnostic tools. Accordingly, digital records of 780 gulls were analyzed, as well as, results of more specific diagnostic ancillary tests used in carcasses and tissue samples in the centre and submitted to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Lisbon. From the 780 admissions, 148 gulls (18,97%) were found to have this paretic syndrome while alive, with L.fuscus and sub-adults being probably the classes most affected (p=0,02;p=0,00005). All these gulls, upon admission, were thin and dehydrated and the most frequent clinical signs documented were: depressed mental status without loss of conscious (58,8%); diarrhoea (43,9%), flaccid cloacae (70,3%); generalized muscular weakness (48,6%), moderate muscular weakness (46,6%); posterior paresis (69,6%) and moderate paresis (71,6%). Approximately half of the 148 gulls died while in rehabilitation and gross necropsy findings of paretic gulls were also unspecific and overall inconsistent. However, a high number of these gulls including dead admissions had a thin-walled cloacae distended with diarrhoea and the intestines were also displaying compatible signs of inflammation: oedema, vascular congestion and fluid faeces (32/71). Evidences of opportunistic diseases or development of confounding ailments like probably Aspergillosis were also noted. The differences between the therapeutic protocols were irrelevant (p=0,7422) and could not diagnose this condition. No pathogenic agent (bacterial or parasitic) capable of causing this syndrome was identified in the carcasses submitted (n=9). The necropsy examination and histopathology lesions reported in the faculty were inconclusive as to the cause of the paresis. Lead and Copper levels, analyzed in 2 gulls, were below what is considered in the literature as indicative of toxic. Nevertheless, in one of the gulls submitted a liver sample was positive for the presence of an organophosphorus compound, which could be in accordance with the high association measured between the spatial distribution of the proportion of paretic cases and density of several crops per municipality (Rho>0,5;p<0,05). In this moment, the data here compiled and the results obtained are still insufficient to determine or exclude the diseases in discussion as causes of this syndrome. Inconsistent use of ancillary tests results, paucity in the knowledge of ethologic and ecologic features of these birds in this region, irregularities in the retrieval of sick birds and tourism are some of the factors that may be influencing these results and should be addressed in future investigations. |
|---|---|
| Autores principais: | Soares, Susana Patrícia Veloso |
| Assunto: | Gulls Paresis Infectious diseases Natural Toxins Heavy metal intoxication Pesticide poisoning Thiamine deficiency Algarve, Portugal Gaivotas Parésia Doenças Infecciosas Biotoxinas Intoxicação por metais pesados Envenenamento por pesticidas Deficiência em tiamina |
| Ano: | 2014 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa |
| Resumo: | RIAS, a Portuguese wildlife rehabilitation centre located in Algarve, has been admitting a substantial high number of seagulls, since its opening in October of 2009, with consistent clinical presentations pertaining to a paretic syndrome without cues of a particular disease. This preliminary study describes the clinical signs and microbiological, parasitological, toxicological and pathologic findings of paretic gulls received between 2009 and 2012. It tries to understand if there is an association between the manifestation of this disease and the different species and age classes affected. It seeks to determine possible relations between the geographic distribution of the cases and specific potentially problematic areas or human activities. All in order to additionally determine a probable cause for this disease taking into consideration the species affected, region where the animals were rescued and diseases that could explain the findings observed like: Newcastle disease, Salmonellosis, Aspergillosis, Sarcocystosis, Botulism, Algal toxicosis, Copper/Lead/Mercury intoxication, Organophosphorus/Carbamate poisoning and Thiamine deficiency. Additionally, a treatment trial with three therapeutic protocols (activated charcoal, fluid therapy and thiamine supplementation) was attempted to evaluate their influence in the outcome of the rehabilitation process and their value as a tentative diagnostic tools. Accordingly, digital records of 780 gulls were analyzed, as well as, results of more specific diagnostic ancillary tests used in carcasses and tissue samples in the centre and submitted to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Lisbon. From the 780 admissions, 148 gulls (18,97%) were found to have this paretic syndrome while alive, with L.fuscus and sub-adults being probably the classes most affected (p=0,02;p=0,00005). All these gulls, upon admission, were thin and dehydrated and the most frequent clinical signs documented were: depressed mental status without loss of conscious (58,8%); diarrhoea (43,9%), flaccid cloacae (70,3%); generalized muscular weakness (48,6%), moderate muscular weakness (46,6%); posterior paresis (69,6%) and moderate paresis (71,6%). Approximately half of the 148 gulls died while in rehabilitation and gross necropsy findings of paretic gulls were also unspecific and overall inconsistent. However, a high number of these gulls including dead admissions had a thin-walled cloacae distended with diarrhoea and the intestines were also displaying compatible signs of inflammation: oedema, vascular congestion and fluid faeces (32/71). Evidences of opportunistic diseases or development of confounding ailments like probably Aspergillosis were also noted. The differences between the therapeutic protocols were irrelevant (p=0,7422) and could not diagnose this condition. No pathogenic agent (bacterial or parasitic) capable of causing this syndrome was identified in the carcasses submitted (n=9). The necropsy examination and histopathology lesions reported in the faculty were inconclusive as to the cause of the paresis. Lead and Copper levels, analyzed in 2 gulls, were below what is considered in the literature as indicative of toxic. Nevertheless, in one of the gulls submitted a liver sample was positive for the presence of an organophosphorus compound, which could be in accordance with the high association measured between the spatial distribution of the proportion of paretic cases and density of several crops per municipality (Rho>0,5;p<0,05). In this moment, the data here compiled and the results obtained are still insufficient to determine or exclude the diseases in discussion as causes of this syndrome. Inconsistent use of ancillary tests results, paucity in the knowledge of ethologic and ecologic features of these birds in this region, irregularities in the retrieval of sick birds and tourism are some of the factors that may be influencing these results and should be addressed in future investigations. |
|---|