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Fever and Blood Sugar in Pinottii Malaria of Pigeons *
Author(s) -
MANWELL REGINALD D.,
STONE WARD B.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
the journal of protozoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 0022-3921
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1968.tb02153.x
Subject(s) - parasitemia , parasite hosting , gametocyte , malaria , biology , avian malaria , plasmodium (life cycle) , inoculation , reproduction , veterinary medicine , parasite load , vector (molecular biology) , physiology , zoology , immunology , plasmodium falciparum , ecology , medicine , immune system , biochemistry , world wide web , computer science , gene , recombinant dna
SYNOPSIS.Plasmodium pinottii is an avian malaria parasite originally isolated from the Brazilian toucan, and maintained chiefly in the pigeon, in which it is extremely pathogenic. Infections must be transferred by blood inoculation, since gametocytes are no longer produced (and, in any event, the vector is unknown). Unlike most forms of avian malaria, pinottii malaria in the pigeon is characterized by fever, often high, with peaks at the time of parasite reproduction. Blood sugar levels vary considerably even in healthy birds, in which the mean was found to be 267 ± 9.2 SEm mg per 100 ml plasma (range 208–335, based on examination of 14 individuals. Values during fasting approximated those when feeding was ad libitum . Levels tended to rise in the early stages of the infection, reaching a mean of 305 ± 14.5 mg per 100 ml plasma (based on 10 cases) while parasitemia was 20‐49%. At death the mean (determined from 46 birds) had dropped to 155.8 ± 15.5 mg per 100 ml. However there is little reason to think that parasite demand on the host's glycogen reserves was a significant factor in causing death, despite the very high parasitemias often reached.