Bacteriological Survey of Feces from Feral Pigenons in Japan

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Some public areas in Japan such as parks and gardens can be highly contaminated with pigeon feces. We examined levels of four bacterial contaminations in fecal samples from feral pigeons in 7 prefectures. We isolated Salmonella Typhimurium and S. Cerro from 17 (3.9%) of 436 samples, as well as Mycobacterium spp. including M. avium-intracellulare complex from 29 (19.0%) of 153 samples. The polymerase chain reaction detected Chlamydia psittaci and C. pecorum in 106 (22.9%) of 463 samples, but E. coli O-157 was not isolated from any of the samples. Our results indicate that pigeon feces are a source of several zoonotic agents for birds, animals and humans. KEY WORDS: feces, pigeon, salmonella.J. Vet. Med. Sci. 67(9): 951-953, 2005 Pigeons (Columba livia) are widely distributed in urban and rural areas of Japan, and come into close contact with humans in parks, temples, shrines, public gardens and railroad stations. A recent increase in the number of pigeons has raised public health concerns [7]. Pigeons are potential reservoirs for several pathogenic microorganisms, including Chlamydia spp., Salmonella spp. and Cryptococcus. In Japan, S. Typhimurium [5,14,15], C. psittaci [3,6,8] and Mycobacterium spp. [10,11] have been isolated from feral pigeons and the frequency of Salmonella spp. and Chlamydia spp. is particularly high [1,2,12]. The presence of pigeon feces in public parks and railroad stations has contributed to the spread of infectious agents in the environment. We therefore extensively surveyed four pathogens (Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli 0-157, Mycobacterium spp. and Chlamydia spp.) in pigeon feces collected from public areas in Japan from 2003 to 2004.Fecal samples (fresh or dry composite) were collected from 38 public areas in 7 prefectures (Hokkaido, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Gifu, Aichi, Osaka and Hiroshima) in Japan. Dry samples were placed in polyethylene bags, and fresh samples were placed in 15-ml tubes containing 1 ml of phosphate-buffered saline.To isolate Salmonella spp., about 0.5 to 3 g of fecal samples were cultured in Hajna tetrathionate broth (Eiken, Tokyo, Japan) and then plated on DHL agar (Eiken) and on CHROMagar Salmonella (CHROMagar Microbiology, Paris, France). Salmonella-like isolates on DHL or CHROMagar plates were examined using TSI (Eiken) and LIM (Eiken) media and confirmed by slide and tube agglutination with commercial antisera (Denka Seiken, Tokyo, Japan). To isolate E. coli O-157, about 2 to 3 g of feces was cultured in mEC broth (Kyokutou, Tokyo, Japan) with novobiocin, and examined using a PATH-STIK KIT (Celsis Lumac, B. V. Landgraaf, The Netherlands). We finally confirmed the presence of E. coli O-157 by slide agglutination with a specific antibody (Denka Seiken). To isolate Mycobacterium spp. about 1 to 3 g of fecal samples were mixed with 0.1% acriflavine and 4% NaOH, and inoculated on Ogawa slant medium (Nissui, Tokyo, Japan). Colonies on the slants were visualized by Ziehl-Neelsen staining, and Mycobacterium spp. were identified using the DNA-DNA hybridization ...

Bakteriyel Zoonozların Epizootiyolojisinde Potansiyel Risk: Güvercin (Columba livia domestica) Dışkısı

“…Pigeons could be able to carry many pathogenic virus, bacteria, fungus and protozoa for humans and animals without causing any diseases in themselves 1,5,7,10,16 . Domestic pigeons are one of the most important vehicle for spreading of zoonotic infections 16 .…”

“…Pigeons are potential reservoir for humans that host many of pathoİleti şim (Correspondence) +90 505 6056246 sinasia@gmail.com S14 The Potential Risk in ... 22 of pigeon cloacal swab samples taken from domestic pigeons, pigs, cattle and horses in their study. Tanaka et al 10 conducted the study concerning the isolation and idenfication of Salmonella spp., Mycobacterium spp., E. coli O157 and Chlamydia spp. and they detected the presence of these bacteria in the samples of pigeon feces that were taken from 38 diff erent public parks, located in 7 regions.…”

Prevalence of Chlamydophila psittaci in Fecal Droppings from Feral Pigeons in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

“…Recently, Tanaka et al found C. psittaci in 106 of 463 (22.9%; 95% CI, 19% to 27%) fecal samples obtained from feral pigeons. However, they did not use exclusively fresh fecal samples and applied a nested PCR protocol, which is known to be particularly prone to contamination (13).…”

O pombo (Columba livia) como agente carreador de Salmonella spp. e as implicações em saúde pública

“…No Japão, os pombos encontram-se amplamente distribuídos nas áreas urbana e rural, e entram em contato com os seres humanos em parques, templos, santuários, jardins públicos e estações ferroviárias (Tanaka et al, 2005). Em Israel, a presença dessas aves tem sido relatada apenas em parques urbanos (Shwartz et al, 2008).…”

“…com capacidade de infectar o homem foi relatada em várias análises de fezes de pombos de vida livre em diferentes países do mundo. Há registros de isolamento de Salmonella enterica sorotipo Typhimurium, patógeno responsável por inúmeros surtos de infecção alimentar humana desde a década de 1960de (Lee, 1974 na Bélgica (Pasmans et al, 2004), no Japão (Tanaka et al, 2005), na Croácia (Vucemilo et al, 2003), em Trinidad (Gopee et al, 2000) e em Barcelona (Casanovas et al, 1995).…”