Air sac fluke Circumvitellatrema momota in a captive blue-crowned motmot (Momotus momota) in France.
Postmortem examination of a 4-mo-old captive-born blue-crowned motmot (Momotus momota) at the Montpellier Zoo in France revealed the presence of air sac flukes. Circumvitellatrema momota (Digenea: Cyclocoelidae) was suspected and confirmed by molecular genetic analysis. Digenean metacercariae were extracted from an invasive species of terrestrial snail, the conical periwinkle, Subulina striatella. Molecular genetic analysis determined that these metacercariae were also C. momota, confirming that all the stages of this parasite's life cycle were present and that birds were likely becoming infected by eating these infected snails. It is likely that this trematode was imported into the greenhouse with a wild-caught motmot. The conical periwinkle snail appears to have been imported into the zoo with the plants in 2007 when the greenhouse was built. Treatments, which have been disappointing, are discussed, as well as preventive measures to avoid dissemination of the parasite into other bird collections in Europe.
Pare Zoologique de Montpellier, 50 avenue Agropolis, 34090 Montpellier, France. zooveto@yahoo.fr
Cédric
C
Libert
Damien
D
Jouet
Hubert
H
Ferté
Karin
K
Lemberger
Nicolas
N
Keck
D000400:Air Sacs / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D001717:Birds; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D014200:Trematoda / Q000145:classification*; D014201:Trematode Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*