Public Health Implications of Intestinal Microbiota in Migratory Birds

Abstract

Understanding the transboundary movement of microorganisms is a significant public health issue. It is possible that large amounts of various bacteria existing on the earth's surface are spreading across borders through migratory birds, but their identities and rates of migration have yet to be elucidated. Although modern bacteriology has advanced based on culture technology, many environmental bacteria may be in a "viable but nonculturable" state. To date, various novel culture-independent detection methods have been developed, including next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology that enables high-throughput sequencing and in-depth gene analysis independent of culture. By using NGS to comprehensively analyze the intestinal microbiota of migratory birds, research on bacterial and viral communities traveling over long distances has entered a new era, providing a new insight for the analysis of the livestock industry, agriculture, and human health risks. Here, we describe the current state and future outcomes of studying intestinal microbiota associated with migratory birds.

Dissemination of Intestinal Microbiota by Migratory Birds across Geographical Borders

“…Since disinfection treatments for bird feces is not performed like that for humans and livestock, there are possibilities that several live bacteria, along with 50 million migratory birds each year, travel the East Asia-Australia region flyway for a long distance. In order to clarify the dynamic of the microbiota, including pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, as well as to verify their significance in public health and environmental microbiology, research has been performed to analyze the intestinal microbial community associated with migratory birds by NGS [16][17][18][19][20][21][22].…”

“…by a novel culture-independent method [14,15]. We attempted to explore the stability of the intestinal bacterial communities in migratory birds, the difference in the intestinal bacterial communities among birds at the individual and species levels, and the potential of long-distance movement of antibiotic-resistant bacteria associated with migratory birds [16][17][18][19]. Research on the spread of bacterial populations over vast distances has led to the elucidation of the roles of migratory birds regarding human health risks, thereby enabling the prediction of potential outbreaks based on their migratory patterns.…”

The detection of Mycoplasma sturni and Mycoplasma moatsii from the choana of a barn swallow (Hirundo rustica): a case report

“…In different studies mycoplasmas have been demonstrated as part of the intestinal flora of juvenile and adult barn swallows [ 10 – 13 ]. On average 5.5% to 9.6% Mycoplasmataceae were detected in feces samples from barn swallows by molecular biological analysis, which shows a high amount of Mycoplasmataceae in the intestinal flora [ 12 , 13 ].…”