Occurrence of in Raptors and Crows in Switzerland.

Bacteria of the family are globally disseminated and able to infect many bird species. So far, 11 species of have been detected in wild birds, and several studies found chlamydial strains classified as genetically intermediate between (.) and . Recently, a group of these intermediate strains was shown to form a separate species, i.e., . In the present study, 1128 samples from 341 raptors of 16 bird species and 253 corvids representing six species were examined using a stepwise diagnostic approach. DNA was detected in 23.7% of the corvids and 5.9% of the raptors. In corvids, the most frequently detected species was of outer membrane protein A () genotype 1V, which is known to have a host preference for corvids. The most frequently detected genotype in raptors was M56. Furthermore, one of the raptors harbored 1V, and two others carried genotype A. was not detected in the bird population investigated, so it remains unknown whether this species occurs in Switzerland. The infection rate of in corvids was high compared to rates reported in other wild bird species, but neither -positive corvids nor raptors showed overt signs of disease. Since the of both, raptors and crows were identified as and all genotypes are considered to be zoonotic, it can be suggested that raptors and crows pose a potential hazard to the health of their handlers.