Wild birds and urban pigeons as reservoirs for diarrheagenic Escherichia coli with zoonotic potential

Author(s)

Borges, Clarissa A. ; Cardozo, Marita V. ; Beraldo, Livia G. ; Oliveira, Elisabete S. ; Maluta, Renato P. ; Barboza, Kaline B. ; Werther, Karin ; Avila, Fernando A.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY; v. 55, n. 5, p. 344-348, MAY 2017.
• Web of Science Citations: 11

Abstract

In order to describe the role of wild birds and pigeons in the transmission of shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) to humans and other animals, samples were collected from cloacae and oropharynx of free-living wild birds and free-living pigeons. Two STEC (0.8%) and five EPEC strains (2.0%) were isolated from wild birds and four EPEC strains (2.0%) were recovered from pigeons. Serogroups, sequence types (STs) and virulence genes, such as saa, iha, lpfA(O113), ehxA, espA, nleB and nleE, detected in this study had already been implicated in human and animal diseases. Multidrug resistance (MDR) was found in 25.0% of the pigeon strains and in 57.0% of the wild bird strains; the wild birds also yielded one isolate carrying extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) gene bla(CTX-M-8). The high variability shown by PFGE demonstrates that there are no prevalent E. coli clones from these avian hosts. Wild birds and pigeons could act as carriers of multidrug-resistant STEC and EPEC and therefore may constitute a considerable hazard to human and animal health by transmission of these strains to the environment. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 08/00417-0 - Biochemical, serological and genotypic characterization of Escherichia coli strains isolated from water, feces and carcass from sheep raised in São Paulo State, Brazil
• Grantee: Renato Pariz Maluta
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 10/12002-0 - Detection and characterization of STEC, EPEC and APEC in wild birds and pigeons in Jaboticabal-SP
• Grantee: Fernando Antonio de Avila
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 11/06467-2 - Detection and characterization of Escherichia coli (APEC) in wild birds and pigeons (Columba livia) in Jaboticabal-SP
• Grantee: Clarissa Araújo Borges
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate