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Parasite DNA Was Found in 7% of Eurasian Magpie Brain Samples in Hungary

Wild Eurasian magpie in Budapest, Hungary
Research · Disease, parasites & microbiology

Brain samples from Eurasian magpies (Pica pica) at two peri-urban sites in Hungary contained DNA from apicomplexan parasites in 19 of 273 birds, or 7%. Apicomplexa is a group of single-celled parasites that includes Toxoplasma, Lankesterella and Isospora. The researchers targeted brain tissue because several of the parasites they screened for are neurotropic, meaning they can occur in nervous tissue. The study was published on 22 July 2026 in Current Research in Parasitology & Vector-Borne Diseases.

Toxoplasma and Lankesterella accounted for most detections

Toxoplasma gondii DNA was found in 10 magpies, or 3.7% of those examined. The authors report this as the first detection of T. gondii in Eurasian magpies in Hungary and Central Europe. DNA from a Lankesterella species was found in 11 birds, or 4%, representing the first molecular evidence of this parasite genus in any corvid. Three magpies carried DNA from both parasites.

All 11 Lankesterella-positive magpies from the two sampling sites carried the same genetic variant, which differed from previously reported Lankesterella sequences. The authors suggest that it may represent a genetic type associated with this host. One additional magpie contained DNA from an Isospora species whose closest known genetic matches came from parasites previously reported in Australian birds. Because the identification relied on a single DNA region that cannot always separate closely related parasite types, its exact taxonomic status remains unresolved.

DNA detection did not demonstrate disease

The wider sample contained 279 corvids, but only six were not Eurasian magpies: four Eurasian jays and two hooded crows. The authors therefore list the strongly uneven sampling among species as a limitation. They also examined only brain tissue, did not use histopathology — microscopic examination of tissue damage — or measure how much parasite material was present. Detecting parasite DNA therefore does not necessarily demonstrate active infection. The study therefore documents parasite DNA in magpie brain samples, not disease or onward transmission. The authors nevertheless identify corvids as a relevant focus for One Health studies of parasite circulation in peri-urban environments, where human, animal and environmental health are considered together.

Sources and image credit

  1. Tuska-Szalay et al. (2026), Current Research in Parasitology & Vector-Borne Diseases — Apicomplexan parasites in urban corvids: Presence of Toxoplasma gondii DNA and first detection of Lankesterella and Isospora DNA in the brain of Eurasian magpies, Pica picaPrimary peer-reviewed open-access study, available online 22 July 2026. Examined 279 corvid brain samples from two peri-urban locations in Hungary, including 273 Eurasian magpies. Apicomplexan DNA occurred in about 7% of magpies; Toxoplasma gondii in 3.7%, Lankesterella sp. in 4%, and Isospora sp. in one bird.
  2. PubMed — Apicomplexan parasites in urban corvidsBibliographic record confirming the electronic publication date of 22 July 2026 and the prevalence and first-detection results.

Image: Lhgergo / Wikimedia Commons — wild Eurasian Magpie near Ferenc Puskás Stadium, Budapest, Hungary, photographed 9 April 2009. Geographically representative image from Hungary; not one of the sampled birds. · CC BY-SA 3.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ · Source

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