title: [Appearance of antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi in different populations of pigeons (Columba livia var. domestica vel urbana].
abstract: Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis, can infect both mammals and birds. The purpose of the present survey was to determine the presence of antibodies against B. burgdorferi in different populations of pigeons. 1043 sera from pigeons (carrier-, urban-, show-pigeons) were examined by standard serological methods. B.burgdorferi shows crossreaction with B. anserina. Therefore all sera were evaluated by IFAT and ELISA for both Borrelia species. The results demonstrate no evidence for the pigeons (Columba livia var. domestica vel urbana) to be reservoir for Borrelia burgdorferi.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Geflügelkrankheiten, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Thormählen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brem
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kösters
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010856:Columbidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D008322:Mammals; D014504:Urban Health
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial