Editing Pelican (section)

===Parasites and disease===
As with other [[bird families]], pelicans are susceptible to a variety of [[parasitism|parasites]]. [[Avian malaria]] is carried by the [[mosquito]] ''Culex pipens'', and high densities of these biting insects may force pelican colonies to be abandoned. [[Leech]]es may attach to the [[cloaca|vent]] or sometimes the inside of the pouch.<ref name="Rothschild ">{{cite book |title= Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos. A Study of Bird Parasites |author= Rothschild, Miriam |author-link= Miriam Rothschild |author2= Clay, Theresa |year= 1953 |publisher= Collins |location= London |pages = 32, 121, 147, 215 |url= https://archive.org/details/fleasflukescucko017900mbp |access-date=29 June 2012}}</ref> A study of the parasites of the American white pelican found 75 different species, including [[cestoda|tapeworms]], [[trematoda|flukes]], [[fly|flies]], [[flea]]s, [[tick]]s, and [[nematode]]s.

The brown pelican has a similarly extensive range of parasites. The nematodes ''Contracaecum multipapillatum'' and ''C. mexicanum'' and the [[trematode]] ''Ribeiroia ondatrae'' have caused illness and mortality in the [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican]] population, possibly endangering the pelican on this island.<ref name="dyer">{{cite journal | last= Dyer | first= William G. | author2= Williams, Ernest H. Jr | author3= Mignucci-Giannoni, Antonio A. | author4= Jimenez-Marrero, Nilda M. | author5= Bunkley-Williams, Lucy | author6= Moore, Debra P. | author7= Pence Danny B. | year= 2002 | title= Helminth and Arthropod Parasites of the Brown Pelican, ''Pelecanus occidentalis'', in Puerto Rico, with a Compilation of all Metazoan Parasites Reported from this Host in the Western Hemisphere | journal= Avian Pathology | volume= 31 | issue= 5 | pages= 441–48 | doi= 10.1080/0307945021000005815 | pmid= 12427338 | s2cid= 21351183 | df= dmy-all | doi-access= free }}</ref>

Many pelican parasites are found in other bird groups, but several [[louse|lice]] are very [[host (biology)|host-specific]].<ref name= overstreet/> Healthy pelicans can usually cope with their lice, but sick birds may carry hundreds of individuals, which hastens a sick bird's demise. The pouch louse ''Piagetiella peralis'' occurs in the pouch and so it cannot be removed by [[preening]]. While this is usually not a serious problem even when present in such numbers that it covers the whole interior of the pouch, sometimes inflammation and bleeding may occur from it and harm the host.<ref name="overstreet">{{cite journal | last= Overstreet | first= Robin M. |author2=Curran, Stephen S. | year=2005 | title= Parasites of the American White Pelican | journal= Gulf and Caribbean Research | volume= 17 |pages= 31–48 | url =http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1430&context=parasitologyfacpubs&sei-redir=1 |format =PDF| doi= 10.18785/gcr.1701.04 | doi-access= free | bibcode= 2005GCRes..17....4O }}</ref>

In May 2012, hundreds of Peruvian pelicans were reported to have perished in [[Peru]] from a combination of starvation and [[roundworm]] infestation.<ref name="peru">{{cite web|title= Pelícanos en La Libertad murieron por desnutrición y parasitosis | date= 4 May 2012 | url= http://peru.com/2012/05/04/actualidad/nacionales/pelicanos-libertad-murieron-desnutricion-y-parasitosis-noticia-62307 | language = es | publisher=Peru.com, 4 May 2012 | access-date=29 June 2012}}</ref>