Campylobacter in Wild Birds: Is It an Animal and Public Health Concern?

Abstract

Campylobacteriosis continues to be one of the leading causes of foodborne bacterial zoonotic infections worldwide. Despite its public health importance, the status of this disease in wild birds and the possibility of transmission from wild birds to domestic animals and humans have not been clearly elucidated yet. This article reviews the available literature with the aim of making a comprehensive manuscript on this disease status in wild birds and the possibility of interspecies transmission. Campylobacter has been isolated from various species of wild birds worldwide, with C. jejuni being the most commonly isolated species. The prevalence of Campylobacter in wild birds may vary depending on several factors like geographical location, season, the bird’s health status, bird species, sample type, the method used, and ecological factors. Molecular studies over the past two to three decades have characterized Campylobacter strains isolated from wild birds and have come up with results that fall into two categories. The first are those that report overlapping strains among human, domestic animal, and wild bird isolates. The results of the studies under this category emphasize that wild birds carry strains of Campylobacter, which are indistinguishable from domestic animals and humans and are therefore an important public and animal health concern. In contrast, the studies under the second category highlight significant differences in Campylobacter population structure among these hosts. Despite the controversiality and the inadequacy of current research to draw a full conclusion, the role of wild birds in the epidemiology of Campylobacter should not be undermined as drug-resistant strains, especially resistance to tetracycline and fluoroquinolones, are increasingly documented. In addition, source attribution studies have linked human cases of Campylobacter infections to wild birds. Therefore, the role of wild birds in the epidemiology of Campylobacter infection should not be neglected. However, in order to determine disease status in wild birds and the precise role of wild birds in domestic animals and human health, detail-oriented epidemiological investigations characterizing the genetic relatedness of isolates from the respective species and environment through one health approach are warranted.

Genomic Characterization and Wetland Occurrence of a Novel Campylobacter Isolate from Canada Geese

“…The host lability of Campylobacter spp. and their ability to overlap between humans, domestic animals, and wild birds further highlights the public health concern generated by the ability of wild birds to mobilize these strains across large geographic distances [ 10 ].…”

“…Any environment frequented by wild birds, and waterfowl specifically, could contain a diverse array of Campylobacter spp. (for review see [ 10 ]). Sanitation District No.…”

The rise of antibiotic resistance in Campylobacter

“…C. jejuni and C. coli from livestock, including poultry, pigs, and ruminants, and their feed have shown high rates of antibiotic resistance, while C. coli appears to be better adapted for MDR [25]. Worldwide, Campylobacter has been isolated from various wild bird species and wild boars, with a MDR rate of 67.0% for C. coli from wild boars [1,26 ▪ ]. A recent study on the presence and characteristics of Campylobacter spp.…”

“…Campylobacteriosis is the most commonly reported zoonotic bacterial foodborne gastroenteritis [1]. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reported that Campylobacteriosis is one of the leading causes of human bacterial diarrhea in the European Union and United States [2 ▪▪ ].…”

Metagenomic Strain-Typing Combined with Isolate Sequencing Provides Increased Resolution of the Genetic Diversity of Campylobacter jejuni Carriage in Wild Birds

“…The number and diversity of Campylobacter transiting in animal and environmental compartments is immense [ 3 , 4 ]. Wild birds are hypothesized to act as wildlife reservoirs of Campylobacter jejuni , causing fecal contamination of the environments, of food production farms, and possibly transmitting Campylobacter to livestock, domestic animals as well as to humans [ 5 ]. Aside from being confirmed in more than 80% of campylobacteriosis cases, C. jejuni is also the most frequently detected species in several wild bird species [ 6 , 7 ].…”