title: Zero prevalence of Clostridium difficile in wild passerine birds in Europe.
abstract: Clostridium difficile is an important bacterial pathogen of humans and a variety of animal species, where it can cause significant medical problems. The major public health concern is the possibility of inapparent animal reservoirs of C. difficile and shedding of bacteria to noninfected individuals or populations, as well as being a source of food contamination. Migrating birds can be a key epizootiological factor for transmission and distribution of pathogens over a wide geographic range. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether migrating passerine birds can be a source of spread of C. difficile along their migration routes. Cloacal samples were taken from 465 passerine birds during their migration south over the Alps. Selective enrichment was used for detection of C. difficile. Clostridium difficile was not isolated from any of the samples, which indicates that migrating passerine birds are unlikely to serve as a reservoir and a carrier of C. difficile.
authors.affiliation: Veterinary faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia Slovenian Museum of Natural History, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bandelj
authors.forename: Tomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Trilar
authors.forename: Jozko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Racnik
authors.forename: Marko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zadravec
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pirš
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Avbersek
authors.forename: Jasna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Micunovic
authors.forename: Matjaz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ocepek
authors.forename: Modest
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vengust
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D002988:Cloaca / Q000382:microbiology; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D046109:Passeriformes / Q000382:microbiology*; D015995:Prevalence