Ecological, Epidemiological and Pathological Insights on Avian Malaria

Malaria parasites of the order Haemosporida include obligate heteroxenous parasites (e.g., parasites with a life cycle requiring more than one host species) that use a vertebrate as an intermediate host and hematophagous Diptera as definitive hosts (Valkiūnas, 2005). These parasites can infect reptiles, mammals, and birds, and use at least seven families of dipteran insects as vectors. They are highly widespread occurring in all continents, except Antarctica (Marzal, 2012; Valkiūnas, 2005). Naturally, the ecological and taxonomic diversity of these parasites is quite extensive, with more than 550 species of Haemosporida described belonging to 17 different genera (Marzal, 2012). Among these, the haemosporidians that can infect birds are classified in the genera Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon, and Fallisia, the latter having been recorded only by a single study in Venezuela (Valkiūnas, 2005). Combined, these genera comprise around 250 avian-infecting species.