engleski

Monitoring of the backyard poultry population reveals a prevalence of chlamydiae

Avian chlamydiosis, despite the potential risk for human health all over the world, is still not investigated enough. Especially in poultry, chlamydial infections are often misdiagnosed due to symptoms similar to those caused by other respiratory pathogens or very complex diagnosis which is also hazardous for laboratory personnel. In the last decade, molecular methods serve as most appropriate for detection of this zoonotic pathogen. In different geographic part of Croatia fecal samples were taken from 67 backyard poultry flocks. By using a Chlamydiaceae-specific real-time PCR assay targeting the 23S rRNA gene 7 samples (10.45%) were found positive. Some of these PCR positive samples belong to C. psittaci but some of them didn’t react with any of the C. psittaci specific tool targeting the ompA gene. As recently novel Chlamydophila spp. strains have been isolated from poultry some of them belong to atypical Chlamydia. Depending on the flock size and housing conditions, positive birds were treated with different antimicrobial agents (tetracycline or enrofloxacine) and bio-security measures (quarantine, regular cleaning and disinfection) were performed in all positive cases. After the treatment, the birds were examined until negative results were obtained. Further investigations are needed in attempt to clarify the role of this microorganism in poultry and prevention of potential illness in humans.

avian chlamydiosis; backyard poultry

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