Banca de DEFESA: JUAN ROJAS PEREIRA

Virulence and antifungal sensitivity of oral, skin and cloacal mycobiota of wild psittacines in captivity

Antifungals; Filamentous fungi; Yeasts; Pathogenicity

Unlike humans, the mycobiota of animals, and specifically birds, has been little studied. Little is known about the oral mycobiota and other areas of the body. However, it is known that birds are potential carriers of yeasts and filamentous fungi that can cause diseases in humans and other animals, including birds themselves. In addition to this, birds themselves suffer consequences due to imbalances in their microbiota. Factors such as deforestation, urban growth, hunting, and smuggling of wild birds are important factors in the dissemination of various microorganisms in various environments, which poses a risk to public health. In this study, components of the oral, skin/feather, and cloaca mycobiota of 23 psittacine birds of the species Ara ararauna, Ara chloropterus, Amazona aestiva, Amazona amazonica, Amazona rhodocorytha, and Aratinga auricapillus were isolated, identifying a total of 179 different fungal samples. Highlighting in vitro virulence factors specific to these isolates and the antifungal sensitivity of the isolates with the greatest epidemiological potential.

In vitro virulence was evaluated by testing the production of proteases and phospholipases, hemolysis capacity, DNAse production, and urease production, according to the isolated fungal group. Antifungal sensitivity was evaluated by the microdilution method using the antifungals itraconazole, voriconazole, fluconazole, nystatin, and amphotericin B. The aim is to contribute to the knowledge of the fungal components of psittacines by evaluating the presence of yeast-like fungi and filamentous fungi common to these bird species and, among them, identify the capacity to produce virulence factors that facilitate transmissibility and contagion of pathogenic fungi to owners, professionals who work with birds, other animals, and the birds themselves. This will allow the clinical veterinarian to differentiate between conditions due to increased fungal proliferation in the animal's body and those resulting from the presence of pathogenic fungi not related to the anatomical sites studied, as well as assist in the selection of more effective antifungals in the presence of fungi resistant to antifungals. It will also stimulate the production of new antifungals, highlighting the need for research into new drugs with the increasing emergence of fungi resistant to the most commonly used drugs. We will also contribute to the epidemiological study by understanding the participation of birds in the epidemiological chain of zoonoses involving important fungal microorganisms.