AVIAN HEMATOZOA OF SOME UGANDAN BIRDS

¹ Department of Biology and WHO International Reference Center for Avian Malaria Parasites, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
² Department of Animal Science, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

The hematozoa occurring in 217 of 922 Ugandan birds of 107 species is reported. Species of Haemoproteus were the most prevalent blood parasite, occurring in 82% of the infected birds. The other groups of avian hematozoa encountered, namely Leucocytozoon (6%), Plasmodium (5%), Trypanosoma (7%) and microfilaria (6%), were virtually identical in their rate of occurrence in the bird population. Multiple infections (6.9%) were uncommon. The highest prevalence of blood parasites were recorded in the Zosteropidae (80%) and Ploceidae (56%). Birds showed blood parasitaemias throughout the year, but the peak prevalence was in October, suggesting that vectors were most active at this time.

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				G. Valkiunas, R. N. M. Sehgal, T. A. Iezhova, and T. B. Smith Further Observations on the Blood Parasites of Birds in Uganda J. Wildl. Dis., July 1, 2005; 41(3): 580 - 587. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]