The significance of wild birds(Larus sp.)in the epidemiology of campylobacter infections in humans

Abstract

During much of the present century, the population of herring gulls in Britain has increased rapidly (Cramp, Bourne & Saunders, 1973; Chabrzyk & Coulson, 1976; Monaghan & Coulson, 1977). Accompanying this changes was an increased utilization by these birds of human waste as a food supply, particularly sewage and refuse emanating from our towns and cities (Monaghan, 1983; Hortonet al.1983). This, coupled with their habits of roosting on agricultural land and water storage reservoirs and of breeding on inhabited buildings, has given rise to concern over the role of these birds in the spread of disease to man and domestic animals (e.g. Fenlon, 1981; Reillyet al.1981; Butterfieldet al.1983; Monaghanet al.1985; Girdwoodet al.1986).

Molecular Detection of Campylobacter spp. in California Gull (Larus californicus) Excreta

“…The occurrence of Campylobacter spp. appears to vary from 13 to 97% among gull species, depending on the locations and methods used in previous studies (22,27,29,35). In comparison, the occurrence estimated in this study for the California gull (L. californicus) appears to be in the upper range.…”

“…Campylobacter is a leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in developed regions, mostly resulting in sporadic infections (35). For example, in the United States, over 6,033 cases of campylobacteriosis were reported in 2009 (http://www.cdc.gov /mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5914.pdf), with a food-borne rate of 13.02 per 100,000, ranking Campylobacter as the second highest cause of food-borne disease (after Salmonella).…”

“…In the environment, Campylobacter is normally associated with poultry (28), although other environmental sources find their way into water (19,21). A number of studies have also documented the presence of campylobacters in the excreta of gulls from different regions, such as herring gulls in Scotland (35), ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis) in Canada (22,29), and seagulls (Larus spp.) from three coastal locations of Northern Ireland (27).…”

“…Species-specific assays used in this study showed a lower occurrence of commonly humanpathogenic campylobacters in California gulls than previous studies of other gull species based on culture techniques. For example, using culturing techniques, Whelan et al (35) reported that two-thirds of the herring gulls (Larus argentatus) tested were positive to Campylobacter spp., with C. laridis as the dominant species (55%), followed by C. jejuni (30%) and C. coli (15%). In contrast, out of 13 fecal strains tested, Hughes et al (17) identified one strain as C. lari and no C. jejuni or C. coli strains in black-headed gulls (Larus ridibundus) using different functional and ribosomal-gene (i.e., 16 and 23S rRNA gene) PCR assays.…”

Characterization of Escherichia coli populations from gulls, landfill trash, and wastewater using ribotyping

“…crows and gulls) are attracted to untreated sewage, garbage dumps, manure, and other sources of enteric pathogens. As a consequence, a number of enteric bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter jejuni, C. coli, C. lari and Helicobacter canadensis (Fenlon 1983, Kapperud & Rosef 1983, Whelan et al 1988, Quessy & Messier 1992, Hatch 1996, Moore et al 2002, Fogarty et al 2003, Waldenström et al 2007) have been isolated from intestinal samples of wild birds. Although potentially pathogenic fecal bacteria have been isolated from some species, recent reviews (Reed et al 2003, Dixon 2007 suggest that the role wild birds play in human diseases is largely understudied, and that much work remains to determine the role of wild birds on zoonotic transmission of enteropathogens.…”