engleski

Pathogen surveillance in wild birds in Zagreb

Wild birds can carry a wide range of viral, bacterial, fungal and protozoan zoonotic agents, which may be transmitted to humans. Many of them cover long distances during annual migrations, and can potentially play a role in the epidemiology of zoonoses. In the locations around City of Zagreb during 2004 and 2006, 73 and 273 wild birds of different species were captured, respectively, and pharyngeal and cloacal swabs were taken. Birds were belonging to the species: Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), Robin (Erithacus rubecula), Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita), Blackbird (Turdus merula), Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin), Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus), Great Tit (Parus major), Nightingale (Erithacus megarhynchos), Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca), Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos), Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris), and Goldcrest (Regulus regulus). All swabs were streaked directly on nutrient agar (Becton Dickinson, Cockeysville, USA) BPLS-Agar (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany), and Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (Becton Dickinson, Cockeysville, USA). Also, cloacal swabs were examined for the presence of Campylobacter spp. The taxonomic classification of isolated bacteria was based on colony morphology, microscopically and biochemical characteristic, mostly using API 20 E and API 20 NE strips (BioMerieux, Lyon, France). Fungi were identified macroscopically, based on colony morphology and microscopically. From pharyngeal swabs bacteria E. coli, Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., and Bacillus sp., and fungi Candida spp., Cladosporium sp., Mucor sp., Alternaria sp., Aspergillus (A.) flavus, and Penicillium sp. were isolated. From cloacal swabs bacteria Bacillus sp., E. coli, Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., and Pseudomonas sp., and fungi A. fumigatus, A. niger, Candida sp., C. albicans, Cladosporium sp., Mucor sp., Penicillium sp., Alternaria sp., Scapulariopsis sp. and Rodotorula rubra were isolated. All examined cloacal swabs were Campylobacter negative. Comparing the results from two different years, similarities of bacterial and fungal species and their number is evident, even on a higher number of the samples. All isolated bacterial and fungal species are opportunistic, but they can also be obligatory pathogens, especially E. coli and Aspergillus species, and may cause diseases in poultry and humans, especially in elderly or immunocompromised ones. The results obtained by these two investigations revealed the need for permanent monitoring of wild bird’ s health status, especially the species that are more infected and are in the closer contact with the humans.

wild birds; bacteria; fungi; zoonoses; avian influenza; Newcastle disease virus

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