Encephalitozoon

Hinney, Barbara, Sak, Bohumil, Joachim, Anja & Kva ́ ̆ c, Martin, 2016, More than a rabbit's tale - Encephalitozoon spp. in wild mammals and birds, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 5 (1), pp. 76-87 : 81

3.1. Encephalitozoon in wild birds

Several infections caused by Encephalitozoon spp . have been described in wild birds ( Table 1) and these seem to be infected more commonly than mammals ( Słodkowicz-Kowalska, 2009). Besides Enterocytozoon spp. ( Haro et al., 2006b; Lobo et al., 2006; Bart et al., 2008), E. hellem is a highly prevalent microsporidian species of birds ( Słodkowicz-Kowalska et al., 2006; Mal̆cekov ́a et al., 2013). However, in most studies only one of several genera of microsporidia was tested for so that a direct comparison is not feasible. E. cuniculi and E. intestinalis have also been detected in the faeces of birds by molecular analysis, albeit with lower prevalence. Although birds are most probably not the main host of E. cuniculi (Kăsĭckováet al., 2009) in some studies this species was the most prevalent in exotic pet birds and in pigeons and such birds therefore seem to constitute an additional reservoir for E. cuniculi , too ( Haro et al., 2006b; Lobo et al., 2006; Bart et al., 2008).