Trichomonas gallinae is the causative protozoan parasite of avian trichomonosis, an infectious disease of wild bird species. Since an outbreak in the UK in 2005, avian trichomonosis has resulted in mass mortality events in greenfinch (Chloris chloris) and chaffinch (Fringillia coelebs) populations. Given its proximity to the UK, it is important to monitor the emergence of T. gallinae in Ireland. This study proposed to sample greenfinch, goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) and feral pigeon (Columba livia domestica) in Ireland with the aim of culturing and isolating T. gallinae. The oral cavity of birds was sampled with an oropharyngeal swab, which was then inoculated into Biomed InPouch™ TF test kits. T. gallinae infection was diagnosed in 9 of 60 sampled birds (6 greenfinch and 3 feral pigeon), giving a total infection prevalence rate of 15% and providing evidence that avian trichomonosis is present among, but may not be limited to, greenfinch and feral pigeon populations in Ireland. It is also the first laboratory-based diagnosis of T. gallinae from live, free-living birds in Ireland to our knowledge. It is possible that avian trichomonosis is contributing to the recent decline in greenfinch populations in Ireland. Additionally, the presence of yeast cells in some positive samples did not appear to impede trichomonad growth, which may suggest a potential symbiotic relationship between T. gallinae and yeast species.

鸡毛滴虫是鸟类毛滴虫病的致病原虫寄生虫，是一种野生鸟类的传染病。自 2005 年在英国爆发以来，禽滴虫病已导致绿翅雀 ( Chloris chloris ) 和燕雀 ( Fringillia coelebs ) 种群出现大规模死亡事件。鉴于它靠近英国，监测爱尔兰T. gallinae的出现非常重要。本研究提出对爱尔兰的绿翅雀、金翅雀 ( Carduelis carduelis ) 和野鸽 ( Columba livia domestica ) 进行采样，以培养和分离T. gallinae。用口咽拭子对鸟类的口腔进行取样，然后将其接种到 Biomed InPouch™ TF 测试套件中。在 60 只采样的鸟类中，有 9 只（6 只绿翅雀和 3 只野鸽）被诊断出鸡毛滴虫感染，总感染率为 15%，并提供证据表明，但可能不限于，绿翅雀和野鸽中存在禽滴虫病爱尔兰的鸽子数量。这也是第一个基于实验室的鸡毛虫病诊断从爱尔兰活的自由生活的鸟类到我们的知识。禽滴虫病可能是导致爱尔兰绿雀种群最近下降的原因。此外，一些阳性样本中酵母细胞的存在似乎并没有阻碍滴虫的生长，这可能表明鸡T. gallinae和酵母物种之间存在潜在的共生关系。