類禽痘症於臺灣燕雀目留鳥盛行率之初探

Preliminary Investigation of the Prevalence of Avian Pox-like Lesions in Resident Passerines in Taiwan

禽痘已知出現於許多鳥類中，但至今仌無其於臺灣野生鳥類盛行率和分布的相關研究。本研究運用臺灣鳥類生產力與存活率監測（MAPS Taiwan）計畫，2010－2012年間於臺灣各地所得50種1,591隻燕雀目留鳥的繫放資料中，發現白尾鴝（9隻）、白眉林鴝（1隻）、山紅頭（1隻）及繡眼畫眉（1隻）出現類禽痘症，其盛行率分別為9.78％、3.23％、0.37％及0.28％。整體而言，臺灣留鳥出現類禽痘症的比例（0.75％）不高，但少數特定鳥種如白尾鴝的盛行率偏高。白尾鴝病例出現各地，由少數重複捕捉的病例發現，類禽痘病灶可持續2－3年以上，且病徵會持續加重。雖然禽痘一般不致於對大陸型島嶼留鳥造成太大負面衝擊，但類似MAPS Taiwan這類系統性的長期監測，將有助於早期偵測禽痘在野生鳥類中盛行率的變動。

Avian pox has been reported in a wide range of avian species, yet nothing has been published about its prevalence and distribution in resident passerines in Taiwan. We used banding data from the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship, Taiwan (MAPS Taiwan) program from 2010 to 2012 to evaluate the prevalence of avian pox-like lesions. In total, 50 resident passerine species and 1,591 newly captured individuals were included in this study. Prevalence of avian pox-like lesions was 0.75% on average. Individual white-tailed robin Cinclidium leucurum, white-browed bush-robin Tarsiger indicus, rufous-capped babbler Stachyridopsis ruficeps, and gray-cheeked fulvetta Alcippe morrisonia, were found with lesions, and the number of cases and prevalence of avian pox-like lesions were 9 (9.78%), 1 (3.23%), 1 (0.37%), and 1 (0.28%), respectively. In contrast to most of the bird species studied which all showed a relatively low prevalence for pox virus infection, the white-tailed robin seemed to be easily infected by pox viruses. From data collected from recaptured cases, the lesions appear to last longer than two years at least. In case of an unexpected outbreak of avian pox, systematic monitoring programs of wild bird populations, such as MAPS Taiwan, would assure early detection of any such increase in the number of infected birds.