The Pathology of Fatal Avian Malaria Due to Plasmodium elongatum (GRW6) and Plasmodium matutinum (LINN1) Infection in New Zealand Kiwi (Apteryx spp.)

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Avian malaria refers to the parasitic blood infection caused by species of Plasmodium. Plasmodium spp. have a worldwide distribution and records of mortality extend across a range of bird orders and species. In wild bird populations, infection is maintained within reservoir hosts, which are able to tolerate a chronic, low level of parasitism generally without severe health consequences. The introduction of these adapted avian species and their malarial parasites to naïve bird populations has resulted in devastating impacts on some non-adapted bird species, with the demise of Hawaiian amakihi as a pertinent example. In New Zealand, avian malaria was first recorded in introduced blackbirds (Turdus merula) in the 1920s, and reports of mortality in endemic and native bird species have been sporadic over the last three decades. Of the five species of kiwi, four are considered at risk or threatened by conservation standards. Here, we aim to describe the pathology of avian malaria as a cause of mortality in kiwi (Apteryx spp.) and the species of Plasmodium involved to further our understanding of this disease in arguably the most iconic of New Zealand’s endemic birds. ABSTRACT: Avian malaria caused by Plasmodium species is a known cause of mortality in avifauna worldwide, however reports within New Zealand kiwi (Apteryx spp.) are scant. Postmortem reports from kiwi were obtained from the Massey University/Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa School of Veterinary Science Pathology Register from August 2010–August 2020. Gross lesions were described from postmortem reports, and archived H.E.-stained slides used for histological assessment. Nested PCR testing was performed on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples to assess the presence of Plasmodium spp. and Toxoplasma gondii DNA and cases with a PCR-positive result were sequenced to determine the lineage involved. Of 1005 postmortem reports, 23 cases of confirmed or suspected avian malaria were included in this study. The most consistent gross lesions included splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, and interstitial pneumonia with oedema. Histological lesions were characterised by severe interstitial pneumonia, pulmonary oedema, interstitial myocarditis, hepatic sinusoidal congestion and hypercellularity, and splenic macrophage hyperplasia and hyperaemia/congestion with numerous haemosiderophages. Cytoplasmic meronts were consistently found within endothelial cells of a variety of tissues, and within tissue macrophages of the liver, lung and spleen. A diagnosis of avian malaria was confirmed via PCR testing in 13 cases, with sequencing revealing P. matutinum (LINN1) and P. elongatum (GRW6) as the species involved. This is the largest case series describing the pathology of avian malaria as a cause of mortality in endemic New Zealand avifauna.