چکیده (انگلیسی):

Objective: To determine the presence of zoonotic tick-borne bacteria in feral pigeons
(Columba livia domestica) from urban areas.
Methods: Spleen samples from 84 feral pigeons, found dead with traumatic injuries in
urban areas, were examined by PCR to detect DNA of Anaplasma phagocytophilum,
Bartonella spp., Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Coxiella burnetii, Rickettsia spp., and
Chlamydophila spp.
Results: Twenty (23.8%) pigeons were infected by tick-borne agents, in particular 2
(2.38%) animals resulted positive for Bartonella spp., 5 (5.95%) for C. burnetii, 5
(5.95%) for Rickettsia spp., 13 (15.47%) for B. burgdorferi sensu lato. All birds scored
negative for A. phagocytophilum. Moreover, 17 (20.23%) pigeons were positive for
Chlamydophila spp. and among them 10 (11.9%) for Chlamydophila psittaci. Mixed
infections by two or three agents were detected in 8 (9.52%) animals.
Conclusions: Feral pigeons living in urban and periurban areas are a hazard for the
human health as source of several pathogens. The obtained results confirm pigeons as
reservoirs of chlamydial agents and suggest that they may be involved in the epidemiology
of zoonotic tick-borne infections too.