BACKGROUND AND AIM

Pigeon rearing has been gaining popularity for recent years. They are reared remarkably very close to the house of the owner. This activity, therefore, may pose potential threats for humans as well as other animals as pigeons may carry and spread different pathogens including drug-resistant bacteria. This study was conducted to explore the prevalence of and spp. as well as their antibiogram profile along with an association analysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Forty swab samples were collected from 20 pigeons during the study. and spp. were isolated and identified on various types of agars, including MacConkey, Eosin methylene blue, Brilliant green, and Salmonella-Shigella agar. Biochemical tests such as the carbohydrate fermentation test, the triple sugar iron agar slant reaction, the indole test, the methyl red test, the catalase test, as well as the Voges-Proskauer test were also performed. Besides, the presence of was further confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Moreover, antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the isolates was performed against nine antibiotics from seven classes on the Mueller-Hinton agar based on the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of and spp. was 52.5 and 27.5%, respectively. The prevalence of the pathogenic was 61.90%. The antibiogram profile of 21 as well as 11 spp. revealed that all isolates, except one, were resistant to one to six antibiotics. Around 61.90%, 71.43%, 23.81%, 61.90%, 23.81%, 19.05%, and 52.38% of showed resistance against amoxicillin, ampicillin, azithromycin, erythromycin, nalidixic acid, gentamicin, and tetracycline, respectively. Furthermore, resistance was not observed in case of ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin. Similarly, around 36.36%, 27.27%, 27.27%, 45.45%, 81.82%, 100%, and 18.18% of the spp. showed resistance against amoxicillin, ampicillin, azithromycin, erythromycin, nalidixic acid, tetracycline, and levofloxacin, respectively. However, all spp. (100%) were found to show sensitivity against ciprofloxacin and gentamicin. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) (23.80%) and spp. (54.54%) were also isolated. Furthermore, both positive (odds ratio [OR] >1) and negative (OR <1) drug resistance associations, with a higher frequency of positive associations, were found in . A significant positive association was observed between ampicillin and amoxicillin (OR: 81.67, 95% confidence interval: 2.73-2447.57, p=0.01).

CONCLUSION

Pigeon carrying MDR and spp. may contribute to the transmission and spread of these microorganisms. Therefore, strict hygienic measures should be taken during the farming of pigeons to decrease the potential transmission of and spp. from pigeon to humans as well as other animals. So far, this is the first report of the PCR-based identification of pathogenic from pigeons in Bangladesh.