title: Northern fowl mite (Ornithonyssus sylviarum) in Sweden.
abstract: Haematophagous mites were collected from the vent region and plumage of chickens in six hobby flocks of ornamental breeds in Sweden, one of which included turkeys. Soiled vent skin and feathers, dermatitis, hyperkeratosis, skin necroses and ulcers were observed in 12 necropsied birds from two of the flocks. The mites were identified as the northern fowl mite Ornithonyssus sylviarum (Mesostigmata: Macronyssidae). This was supported by sequence analysis of a 642-bp region in the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene (COI) in mites collected from five flocks, which showed 97-99% sequence similarity to O. sylviarum by blast analysis. Pairwise sequence comparisons revealed nucleotide variations in the range of 0-2.8%, whereas amino acid sequences were highly conserved. This paper represents one of very few records of O. sylviarum in European poultry, and is the first to report COI sequence data for O. sylviarum from poultry in Europe.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Health and Antimicrobial Strategies, National Veterinary Institute (SVA), Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Jansson
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Otman
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lundqvist
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Höglund
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Engström
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chirico
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002645:Chickens; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008924:Mite Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008925:Mites / Q000145:classification* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV
keywords: Acari; COI gene; Macronyssidae; Mesostigmata; Ornithonyssus sylviarum; chicken; northern fowl mite