Molecular detection of Plasmodium huffi (Apicomplexa: Haemosporida) in birds from Mato Grosso state, midwestern Brazil with new host data.

Haemosporidians are heteroxenous, cosmopolitan protozoa that infect birds, using hematophagous dipterans as vectors. The genus Plasmodium has a moderate species diversity and is known for great flexibility in alternating host species, mild to severe pathogenicity, and generally low prevalence. Plasmodium huffi was first described in 1950 and considered insufficiently characterized, however, in 2021, this species was re-described as infecting two different Brazilian toucans, Ramphastos toco and Pteroglossus aracari.