Pathologic and microbiologic aspects of pet psittacine infected by Escherichia coli and Salmonella Typhimurium

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The role of Escherichia coli in healthy microbiota of psittacine is controversial, and the presence of Salmonella sp. indicates possible disease. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the presence of E. coli and Salmonella spp. in a psittacine pet that died in Fortaleza, Brazil, correlating pathogenicity aspects of the isolates through the evaluation of lesions and antimicrobial susceptibility. Psittacine pets sent to the Laboratory of Ornithological Studies, State University of Ceará, that died in 2014 and 2015 were necropsied. Fragments of liver, kidneys, intestine, lung, heart, spleen and brain were collected for microbiological and histopathological analyses. Scores were attributed to lesions and isolated strains submitted to antimicrobial susceptibility test. From the seventy necropsied birds, nineteen were positive for E. coli and one for Salmonella Typhimurium. Congestive lesions and lymphoplasmocitic inflammatory infiltrate were observed varying from light to moderate and were the main findings. In the analyzed strains, multidrug resistance against different groups of antibiotics was observed. In conclusion, according to the results, E. coli strains and the Salmonella Typhimurium isolate produced significant lesions in the psittacine pets, and multidrug resistance may hinder treatments with antibiotics used in avian pet medicine.