Serratospiculiasis, mycosis, and haemosiderosis in wild peregrine falcon from Poland. A case report

In 2006, an emaciated female peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) was found in Szczecin (North-West Poland). Parasitological, microbiological, and ecotoxicological (including determination of concentrations Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ni, V, Pb, and Cd) examinations involved the digestive tract, kidneys, liver, brain, breast muscle, and bone. The presence of nematode Serratospiculum tendo (in air sacs), trematodes Strigea falconi and Conodiplostomum spathula, and cestode Cladotaenia cylindracea (in the digestive tract) were demonstrated. Two species of fungi (Aspergillus nidulans and Cladophialophora boppi), responsible for mycosis, were isolated from the skin of breast region. Escherichia coli (rough type) was isolated from the liver, kidneys, lung, small intestine, and heart. Moreover, Micrococcus luteus and Proteus mirabilis were found in the lungs. Worrisome high concentrations of Fe and Mn were denoted, especially in the liver (over 6 000 and 22 mg/kg d.w., respectively).