Detection of yeasts in cloacae of two species of native psittacine birds in a Chilean rehabilitation center

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of Candida and Cryptococcus in Chilean psittacine birds. Twenty eight cloacae swab samples were collected from 131 captive psittacine birds kept in a rehabilitation wildlife center in Chile. The sampled birds were 24 Slender-billed parakeets (Enicognathus leptorhynchus) and 4 Austral parakeets (Enicognathus ferrugineus). Yeasts were recovered from 20 (71.4%) of these 28 native psittacine birds. The most frequent yeasts isolated included Candida famata (8/28 samples), followed by Candida tropicalis (7/28), Cryptococcus albidus (3/28), Cryptococcus laurentii (2/28), Rhodotorula sp. (2/28), Candida glabrata (1/28) andCryptococcus neoformans (1/28). The present study is the first report of yeasts in the E. ferrugineus and the endemic conure E. leptorhynchus.