Sporadic cases of dermatosis have been reported in wild Ōkārito Rowi (Apteryx rowi), a species of brown kiwi, for over a decade. The disease exhibits distinctive features, including lesions, lichenification, and feather loss. Swab samples and full-thickness skin biopsies were collected during a survey of affected kiwi in 2023 for a metatranscriptome-based, total infectome investigation to identify any possible microbial agents associated with the disease. Our approach identified novel viruses as well as a species of nematode in high relative abundance. We found a highly abundant hepacivirus within the Flaviviridae, but only in some mild cases of dermatitis across all sample types, and in both active and chronic infections. In addition, we found a significant shift in the taxonomic composition of the nonviral microbiome within severe chronic dermatitis cases, particularly an increased abundance of transcripts from a Eucoleus sp. parasitic. Although determining the primary cause of disease in critically endangered wildlife such as Rowi remains challenging, our detection of novel and highly abundant microorganisms opens new lines of inquiry to investigate their potential association with dermatosis in this nationally iconic species.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 31 March 2025.
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#21,669,567
of 34,560,573 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Wildlife Diseases
#1,811
of 2,519 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#140,804
of 362,007 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Wildlife Diseases
#5
of 11 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,560,573 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 37th percentile – i.e., 37% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,519 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.7. This one is in the 27th percentile – i.e., 27% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 11 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 54% of its contemporaries.
