Migratory and opportunistic wild and domestic birds, as Toxoplasma gondii carriers

Toxoplasmosis is among the most prevalent parasitic diseases worldwide. Birds are important intermediate hosts and are regarded as good carriers or reservoirs for Toxoplasma gondii , because of their high dispersal capabilities and moreover they can act as sentinels of environmental contamination with oocysts. Birds can become infected by ingesting sporulated oocysts from contaminated feed, water, or soil, or for carnivorous birds, by ingesting tissue cysts of infected prey. On the other hand, infected birds, as frequent prey for felines, can transmit T. gondii to the definitive hosts. To the best of our knowledge, there are no data on T. gondii infection in birds in the territory of Greece. In this study we estimated the occurrence of T. gondii in various wild and farm bird species in Greece using molecular techniues, contributing to the update of knowledge about the diffusion of toxoplasmosis in birds. Results revealed that 14% (14/100) of examined magpies ( Pica pica ) 31.25%, of rock partridges ( Alectoris graeca graeca ) (5/16), 35.71% (10/28) of wild quails ( Coturnix coturnix ), 0% of Eurasian woodcocks ( Scolopax rusticola ) (0/20) and 0% (0/107) of farmed quails, were detected positive to infection, after the molecular examination of bird brains, resulting in an overall prevalence of 10.70% (29/271). This study represents the first confirmed report of T. gondii natural infection in rock partridges worldwide, while also the first proven report in magpies, rock partridges and common quails in Greece.