Fatal Sarcocystis calchasi-associated meningoencephalitis in 2 captive vulturine guineafowl.

Shelby Gadsby, Michael M Garner, Steven R Bolin, Carlos R Sanchez, Kelly P Flaminio, Richard R Sim

Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc 2022 May

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Two captive vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum) were presented with lethargy, hyporexia, weight loss, and progressive neurologic signs. One of the guineafowl was seropositive for Sarcocystis falcatula (1:50 dilution). Both guineafowl died within 5 d of presentation. Histologic examination revealed nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis with gliosis, associated with occasional schizonts in the neuropil. Using fresh-frozen brain tissue, PCR was performed to amplify the ITS1 RNA region and portions of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene (18S gene) and the 28S ribosomal RNA gene (28S gene). Analysis of nucleic acid sequences from the resulting amplicons indicated that Sarcocystis calchasi was the likely cause of disease. To our knowledge, S. calchasi-associated disease has not been reported previously in the order Galliformes.

Citation

Shelby Gadsby, Michael M Garner, Steven R Bolin, Carlos R Sanchez, Kelly P Flaminio, Richard R Sim. Fatal Sarcocystis calchasi-associated meningoencephalitis in 2 captive vulturine guineafowl. Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc. 2022 May;34(3):543-546