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AIMS To investigate the presence of Campylobacter spp. in captive kiwi (Apteryx spp.) and compare their genotypic profiles with those of human and animal origin, in order to assess their potential for zoonotic or zooanthroponotic transmission. METHODS Conventional selective enrichment and filter-based isolation methods were applied to isolate Campylobacter spp. from fresh faecal samples from 12 North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) and one great spotted kiwi (A. haastii), housed in one of five different areas in a kiwi sanctuary in Christchurch, New Zealand. Isolates were identified using multiplex PCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. High-resolution rapid genotyping using multiplex ligation-dependant probe amplification-based binary typing (MBiT) was applied and profiles compared with similar results from 2,165 Campylobacter spp. isolates contained in a database derived from human clinical, veterinary and environmental samples. RESULTS One isolate of C. jejuni, and one belonging to the C. lari phylogenetic group were recovered from faeces from two kiwi. High-resolution rapid genotyping by MBiT demonstrated these to be indistinguishable from isolates obtained previously from human cases of diarrhoea, and others from chicken, cattle, sheep and water. CONCLUSIONS These data provide evidence for potential zoonotic or zooanthroponotic transmission of Campylobacter spp. in kiwi with implications for management of birds kept in captivity. We believe this is the first formal report of C. jejuni and a C. lari-like organism in kiwi. ABBREVIATIONS MBiT: Multiplex ligation-dependant probe amplification-based binary typing.

To assess the efficacy of toltrazuril against the Eimeria spp. affecting brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli).Droppings were collected from three brown kiwi, aged6 months old, at a captive rearing facility in the North Island of New Zealand, between 22 February and 20 April 2017, on 14 sampling dates. Only droppings (n=30) that were excreted between 03:00 and 07:00, as determined using video surveillance, were included for analysis, reflecting the peak time for shedding of coccidial oocysts for brown kiwi. Oocysts were quantified in each sample and Eimeria species identified on the basis of oocyst morphology. All samples were collected between 2 and 10 days after the birds had been treated with 25 mg/kg toltrazuril.Eimeria spp. oocysts were identified in 28/30 individual samples and on 14/14 sampling dates. Oocyst counts varied from 0 to 328,080 oocysts per gram (opg), and at least one oocyst count10,000 opg was measured on 12/14 sampling dates. Three species of Eimeria were observed, with Eimeria apteryxii and E. kiwii most commonly encountered, whereas only one sample contained E. paraurii.In the three birds monitored at this research site, there was a high abundance of E. apteryxii and E. kiwii oocysts in droppings despite recent administration of toltrazuril. These results suggest that the populations of Eimeria spp. affecting brown kiwi at this location appear to possess an ability to survive exposure to toltrazuril. Toltrazuril is widely used at captive rearing facilities to limit the effects of coccidiosis in juvenile kiwi. If a lack of efficacy is confirmed, it will be necessary to investigate alternative treatment regimens alongside broader environmental management strategies.

Avian malaria parasites of the genus Plasmodium have the ability to cause morbidity and mortality in naive hosts, and their impact on the native biodiversity is potentially serious. Over the last decade, avian malaria has aroused increasing interest as an emerging disease in New Zealand with some endemic avian species, such as the endangered mohua (Mohua ochrocephala), thought to be particularly susceptible. To date, avian malaria parasites have been found in 35 different bird species in New Zealand and have been diagnosed as causing death in threatened species such as dotterel (Charadrius obscurus), South Island saddleback (Philesturnus carunculatus carunculatus), mohua, hihi (Notiomystis cincta) and two species of kiwi (Apteryx spp.). Introduced blackbirds (Turdus merula) have been found to be carriers of at least three strains of Plasmodium spp. and because they are very commonly infected, they are likely sources of infection for many of New Zealand's endemic birds. The spread and abundance of introduced and endemic mosquitoes as the result of climate change is also likely to be an important factor in the high prevalence of infection in some regions and at certain times of the year. Although still limited, there is a growing understanding of the ecology and epidemiology of Plasmodium spp. in New Zealand. Molecular biology has played an important part in this process and has markedly improved our understanding of the taxonomy of the genus Plasmodium. This review presents our current state of knowledge, discusses the possible infection and disease outcomes, the implications for host behaviour and reproduction, methods of diagnosis of infection, and the possible vectors for transmission of the disease in New Zealand.

CASE HISTORY: Nine of 24 captive kiwi treated with oral levamisole at a dose between 25–43 mg/kg showed signs of respiratory distress. Six died within 4 h of treatment and the remaining three made a full recovery within 24 h. CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS: Within 3–4 h of treatment, the affected birds had an elevated respiratory rate, mucoid nasal discharge and rapidly became comatose. Post mortem examination revealed accumulation of thick mucus in the oral cavity and trachea. There was severe pulmonary congestion and oedema and early bronchopneumonia in the lungs of five of the birds. In two birds, there was acute hepatic degeneration and necrosis and one bird had acute pancreatic degeneration and necrosis. DIAGNOSIS: Acute levamisole toxicity. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Kiwi were acutely sensitive to levamisole toxicity at doses that are well within the safe range for domestic poultry. Levamisole should not be used as an anthelmintic in kiwi.

To describe a temporal cluster of avian malaria (Plasmodium spp.) at an Operation Nest Egg™ (ONE) site in Rotorua which caused mortality in a juvenile kiwi and had high population prevalence in brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli).A 70-day-old wild-born captive brown kiwi was submitted for post-mortem examination to Massey University Wildlife Health Centre. Post-mortem examination and histopathology were used to determine the cause of death. Plasmodium specific PCR analysis was subsequently conducted on tissue samples and 108 individual blood samples from living kiwi from five ONE breeding sites and two rowi kiwi crèches. Positive PCR products were sequenced to identify the Plasmodium spp. isolated. Where possible, blood smear microscopic examination was used to determine the level of parasitaemia in the infected kiwi.Plasmodium spp. was detected in the kiwi which died and it showed histopathological evidence of disseminated protozoal infection. A high prevalence of Plasmodium was found in blood samples from kiwi concurrently residing at ONE Rotorua by blood smear microscopy (22/32, 68%) and PCR (25/32, 78%). All kiwi with positive blood smears had only a low level of peripheral parasitaemia at the time of sampling. However, 0/17 additional kiwi sampled at Rotorua 3 weeks after the juvenile's death, 0/23 Rotorua juveniles sampled 1 year later and 0/59 kiwi from the five other locations were positive for Plasmodium by these methods. Sequencing analysis revealed a cosmopolitan Plasmodium (Huffia) elongatum lineage in all positive birds.This is the first description of an avian malaria (Plasmodium spp.) infection associated with mortality and a high population prevalence in brown kiwi at a ONE site in the 20 years of the programme. The study suggests that this level of infection in a population of kiwi was unusual and provides evidence in support of continued vigilance of disease risks associated with this and other conservation management programmes involving wildlife translocation.

Nodular lesions were found on the skin of two immature brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) less than 6 months of age living freely on Ponui Island off the North Island of New Zealand. The lesions were observed during routine external examination undertaken as a part of the management of other research projects, one in 2006 and the other in 2011. Apart from the skin lesions, both birds showed no signs of illness and the lesions resolved spontaneously over a 2-month period.The first case showed several 3-mm diameter firm, brown nodules located on the skin below the hock of both legs. The second case had a single multinodular mass that measured 7×20 mm, on the base of the bill. A portion of the mass and scab samples were collected for diagnosis. Histological examination of the nodules revealed severe ballooning degeneration of keratinocytes and epithelial hyperplasia. Round eosinophilic structures resembling avipoxvirus (APV) intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies (Bollinger bodies) were observed in the layers of keratinocytes. In deeper layers of the epidermis, there was evidence of secondary bacterial growth and inflammation.DNA was extracted from tissue samples and subjected to PCR analysis. Avipoxvirus 4b core protein gene was detected in both samples by PCR. Bootstrap analysis of APV 4b core protein gene revealed that APV isolates from two kiwi comprised two different subclades. One isolate displayed 100% sequence homology to subclade B1, and the other presented 100% sequence homology to subclade A3.This study confirmed that kiwi are susceptible to APV infection and that at least two different strains of APV are present in the population examined. Since there is no information on the origin, virulence, or prevalence of APV in kiwi, a seroprevalence study would be useful to elucidate the degree of exposure and immune response to the disease. This would allow a more informed approach to risk management of the disease in wild and captive populations.

Following the recent discovery of Libyostrongylus douglassii in ostriches in New Zealand, information relating to this nematode is reviewed. Amongst some of the topics considered are the parasite's distribution and prevalence, its life cycle and survival, and its diagnosis and control. Of particular interest from a New Zealand perspective is the potential for the parasite to infect other ratites, especially the kiwi. While the current evidence suggests that this may be unlikely to occur, the possibility that it might be able to do so cannot be ruled out entirely.

Extract Veterinary interest in New Zealand's indigenous bird species was evident in the first issue of the New Zealand Veterinary Journal when Roach (1952) outlined some of the unusual anatomical features of the kiwi (Apteryx spp), including observations on their behaviour, clinical signs, and population distribution. Some of these anatomical and behavioural adaptations have no doubt helped kiwi survive the human invasion that exterminated New Zealand's other ratites in the early part of the last millennium, but they have also left it prone to certain diseases. Smith et al (1973) were the first to report pneumoconiosis in the kiwi, which was presumably the result of the positioning of external nares at the end of a long beak, an adaptation useful for nocturnal feeding. Egg peritonitis is also now recognised as a common problem in kiwi both in captivity (Boardman 1995) and in the wild (Reed 1997b). The retention of a very large ratite egg in a bird which has adapted to be small enough to nest in l...

Generalised tuberculosis was found in a captive kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) at autopsy. Sequential faecal sampling of the other kiwis and falcons (Falco novaeseelandiae) held in the aviary revealed an excretor of Mycobacterium avium.