Black cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo (L., 1758) as a vector of fungi and parasites occurring in the gastrointestinal tract

Abstract

The study reported in this manuscript is a part of extended investigations on transmission of fungi potentially pathogenic to man as well as parasitic flatworms and nematodes by wild fowl. The objective of this study was to identify the presence of fungi and parasites in the gastrointestinal tract of cormorants. Mycological and parasitological analyses were carried out on swabs taken from ontocenoses of beak, stomach, duodenum, jejunum, ileum and cloaca of 21 cormorants. The presence of fungi in the gastrointestinal tract was detected in 60% of the birds examined. They were isolated most frequently from beaks and cloacae of birds, duodenum was free of fungi. The most frequently isolated fungi were: Candida krusei and Debaryomyces hansenii. All isolates of fungi selected for enzymatic analyses were characterized by a high activity of esterases. Stomachs of all cormorants analyzed were found to contain Contracaecum rudolphii s. l. nematode. In turn, intestinal digesta of most of the birds were shown to contain Paradilepis scolecina tapeworm. Apart from tapeworms, duodenal digesta were also found to contain Paryphostomum radiatum digenea. The highest prevalence and intensity of infection with digenea was determined in the case of the birds shot in July. © 2012 Versita Warsaw and Springer-Verlag Wien.