Fungal diversity isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of psittacines kept as pets: a potential public health risk?

Abstract

Birds play an important role in the maintenance of fungi, since they are considered reservoirs and their excreta serve as a substrate for certain zoonotic fungal pathogens. Considering the importance of knowing the microbiota of wild and exotic birds and the scarcity of epidemiological data in the Amazon region, the aim of this study was to evaluate the fungal diversity of the gastrointestinal tract of psittacines kept as pets in the municipality of Rio Branco, Acre, Western Amazonia, Brazil. Between August 2020 and December 2021, 20 psittacines underwent clinical evaluation and samples were taken from the oral and cloacal cavities by swabbing. The biological material was sent for fungal cultivation and the isolates were analyzed according to their morphological and biochemical characteristics. The gastrointestinal tract samples from 13 birds resulted in 64 isolates distributed among 15 fungal genera. According to the data obtained, there is a high diversity of fungal microorganisms of zoonotic interest in the gastrointestinal tract of psittaciformes. The keeping of wild and exotic birds as pets is a potential threat to our health and the risk factors need to be better understood.