Giardia in straw-necked ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis) in Western Australia
Forshaw, D.; Palmer, D.G.; Halse, S.A.; Hopkins, R.M.; Thompson, R.C.
Veterinary Record 131(12): 267-268
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0042-4900 PMID: 1413413 Document Number: 395321
During a banding programme in a swamp in the south west of Western Australia, a high mortality rate was noted in nestling straw-necked ibis; many sick and moribund birds were identified. PM examination of a number of freshly dead and killed moribund birds revealed that birds were in good condition with no gross lesions. In tissues from the killed moribund birds, microscopic changes were confined to the small intestine. Mild focal infiltrations of heterophils in the lamina propria and epithelium of the villi were present. Pear shaped protozoan organisms and a mixed population of bacteria were seen in the lumen closely associated with the epithelium in some areas. The protozoan organisms were flagellates, approximately 10 to 15 micro m in length with morphological characteristics typical of Giardia. The cause of mortality in the colony of ibis remains unclear and although giardiasis remains a possible diagnosis, the finding of Giardia in apparent normal ibis in a colony north of Perth, Western Australia, suggests that subclinical infections do occur.