BioOne.org will be down briefly for maintenance on 17 December 2024 between 18:00-22:00 Pacific Time US. We apologize for any inconvenience.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 January 2002 Haemoproteus lophortyx Infection in Bobwhite Quail
Carol J. Cardona, Arthur Ihejirika, Linda McClellan
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

This report chronicles recurring outbreaks of Haemoproteus lophortyx infection in captive bobwhite quail. Clinically, the signs of infection included reluctance to move, ruffled appearance, prostration, and death. These signs were associated with parasitemia, anemia, and the presence of large megaloschizonts in skeletal muscles, particularly those of the thighs and back. The average cumulative mortality for flocks experiencing outbreaks was over 20%. In a typical outbreak, mortality rose when the birds were 5–6 wk of age, peaked in 8-to-10-wk-old quail, and declined rapidly when the quail were 9–11 wk old. Outbreaks occurred exclusively between the months of May and October, and warm weather was determined to be a risk factor for H. lophortyx mortality. This protozoan most likely overwinters in native California quail in the area and is transmitted to quail on the ranch by an insect vector that emerges in warm weather. Infection of the large population of naïve bobwhite quail on the ranch leads to amplification of H. lophortyx, resulting in epidemics in successive flocks.

Carol J. Cardona, Arthur Ihejirika, and Linda McClellan "Haemoproteus lophortyx Infection in Bobwhite Quail," Avian Diseases 46(1), 249-255, (1 January 2002). https://doi.org/10.1637/0005-2086(2002)046[0249:HLIIBQ]2.0.CO;2
Received: 19 July 2001; Published: 1 January 2002
KEYWORDS
Avian
Haemoproteus
parasite
quail
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top