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Aims: To determine the presence of infection and co-infection of Plasmodium lineages in introduced birds at translocation sites for the North Island saddleback ( Philesturnus rufusater ), to investigate their role as Plasmodium spp. reservoirs. Methods: Blood samples were collected from introduced bird species, with a special focus on blackbirds ( Turdus merula ) and song thrushes ( Turdus philomelos ), at six locations in the North Island of New Zealand that were the origin, or translocation sites, for North Island saddleback. Where available, blood smears were examined, and blood samples were tested using nested PCR with subsequent sequence analysis, for the presence of Plasmodium spp. Results: Of the 55 samples tested using PCR analysis, 39 (71%) were positive for Plasmodium spp., and 28/40 (62%) blood smears were positive for Plasmodium spp. Overall, 31 blood samples were from blackbirds with 28/31 (90%) samples positive for Plasmodium spp. Six distinct avian Plasmodium lineages were identified, including three cosmopolitan lineages; Plasmodium vaughani SYAT05 was detected in 16 samples, Plasmodium matutinum Linn1 in 10 samples and Plasmodium elongatum GRW6 in eight samples. Mixed infections with more than one lineage were detected in 12 samples. Samples from two Australian magpies ( Gymnorhina tibicen ) were positive for Plasmodium . sp. lineage MYNA02, previously not identified in New Zealand. Conclusions and clinical relevance: This is the first report from New Zealand in which specific Plasmodium spp. mixed infections have been found in introduced birds. Co-infections with several cosmopolitan Plasmodium lineages were identified, as well as the first report in New Zealand of an exotic avian Plasmodium sp . lineage, in Australian magpies. Whilst the role of introduced birds in maintaining and spreading pathogenic avian malaria in New Zealand is unclear, there is a potential infection risk to native birds, especially where distributions overlap.

Aim: To explore how the inclusion of multi-host dynamics affects the predicted prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in possums and other host species following the current best practice for control of TB in large difficult and remote areas, to identify which host species are responsible for changes in predicted prevalence, and whether TB can persist in possum-free host communities., Methods: Multi-host TB models were constructed, comprising three host species with density-dependent population growth, density-dependent disease transmission and susceptible and infected classes. Models were parameterised for two case studies of current concern in New Zealand, namely chronic TB persistence in a possum-deer-pig complex in extensive forest, and in a possum-pig-ferret complex in unforested semi-arid shrub and grasslands. Persistence of TB in the face of best practice possum control was evaluated from model simulations, and the contribution of different hosts to persistence of TB was assessed by removing each host species in turn from the simulations. A sensitivity test explored how different parameter values affected modelled persistence of TB., Results: The forest multi-host model-predicted amplification of TB prevalence due to the presence of pigs. The presence of pigs and/or deer did not jeopardise the success of best practice possum control in eradicating TB from the system, as pigs and deer are effectively end-hosts for TB. Sensitivity analyses indicated these interpretations were robust to uncertainty in model parameter values. The grassland system model predicted that the multi-host species complex could potentially lead to failure of eradication of TB under possum-only control, due to TB persisting in ferret and pig populations in the absence of possum hosts through reciprocal scavenging, resulting in spillback transmission to possums once their populations had started to recover from control., Conclusions: With respect to management of TB, for modelled forest habitats, 15 years of effective possum control was predicted to eradicate TB from the possum-deer-pig host community, indicating the current focus on possum-only control is appropriate for such areas. For grassland model systems, TB was predicted to persist in the ferret-pig host complex in the absence of possums, potentially jeopardising the effectiveness of possum-only control programmes. However this outcome depended on the occurrence and rate of pigs acquiring TB from ferrets, which is unknown. Thus some estimation of this transmission parameter is required to enable managers to assess if multi-host disease dynamics are important for their TB control programmes.

Aim: To investigate the initiating causes of cloacitis (inflammation of the cloaca) in kakapo (Strigops habroptilus)., Methods: Metagenomics using unbiased RNA or DNA sequencing was applied to faecal material from an 11-year-old female kakapo with exudative cloacitis, and a pool of eight birds (male and female aged 1-20 years) with no current signs or history of the disease. Faecal material from the diseased bird was collected pre- and post-treatment. For RNA sequencing, extracted RNA/DNA was subject to DNase, and the remaining RNA reverse transcribed to cDNA and subject to multiple displacement amplification prior to sequencing., Results: No significant alignment to any known avian virus sequence was obtained from any faecal samples. However significant BLAST alignments to five bacteriophages known to infect enterobacteria were obtained. Strong evidence was obtained for the presence of the bacteriophage Escherichia phage TL-2011b, a bacteriophage known to occur in Escherichia coli causing outbreaks of foodborne disease in humans, in the sample from the diseased bird, but not the non-diseased pool. Differences in E. coli community structure between the diseased bird and the non-diseased pool were also apparent., Conclusions: Escherichia coli infection of human origin is suggested as a possible cause of exudative cloacitis, although confirmatory work is required to test this hypothesis.

Brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) are the major wildlife reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (BTB), in New Zealand. Primary diagnosis of BTB in wild possums is by palpation to detect peripheral lymphadenomegaly followed by necropsy examination, which frequently identifies gross tuberculous lesions in the peripheral lymph nodes and lungs. Experimental infection studies were conducted with wild possums in an attempt to emulate field BTB, focussing on percutaneous administration of virulent M. bovis in the paws. In a preliminary study, viable M. bovis bacilli were recovered from lymph nodes draining fore- or hindlimbs 12 days after percutaneous injection. Subsequently, 21 wild possums were injected interdigitally with 500 colony forming units (cfu) of M. bovis, radio-collared and released; 17/18 possums recaptured 8 weeks later had an established M. bovis lymphatic infection, with 16 having culture-positive gross lesions in the superficial and/or deep axillary lymph nodes. A dual-site infection model was established, involving simultaneous interdigital injection of 100 cfu of M. bovis into front and rear paws of 19 wild possums; this identified that the average degree of lymphadenitis involved 30-fold enlargement of the draining lymph node by 7-8 weeks post injection (wpi). A time-course study demonstrated establishment of M. bovis infection in peripheral lymph nodes of 9/11 possums at 3-5 wpi of doses ranging from 60 to 190 cfu, but with no development of gross lesions; by 7 weeks, 8/8 animals injected similarly had both an established infection and gross lesions of peripheral lymph nodes. The incidence and progression of peripheral lesion development, together with indications of sequential infection of the lungs, liver and mesenteric lymph nodes(MLNs), indicates that a low-dose percutaneous M. bovis infection model is likely to emulate natural disease in possums., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)