Hashemian Seyed Mohamad Mahdi, Madani Seyed Ahmad, Peighambari Seyed Mostafa
Central Veterinary Laboratory, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Animal and Poultry Health and Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Vet Med Sci. 2025 Sep;11(5):e70537. doi: 10.1002/vms3.70537.
Avian Chlamydia spp. are capable of infecting different avian species and potentially cause the loss of valuable birds in rehabilitation facilities and zoos. They also pose a potential zoonotic risk to visitors and workers at such centres.
This study aimed to assess the occurrence of chlamydia in two different public aviaries and a rehabilitation centre.
One hundred and eight samples from 48 different avian species belonging to 11 different orders were collected. These samples were tested for chlamydia infection by detecting the Chlamydia 16s rRNA gene using polymerase chain reaction.
Thirty-seven samples were positive for Chlamydia DNA. High infection rates were detected in Psittaciformes (60%) and Columbiformes (77.8%). These findings indicate the relatively high frequency of chlamydial infections in birds of these orders. The occurrence of this infection in Falconiformes was 33.3%. Galliformes species investigated in this study had a lower occurrence (16.7%) of chlamydial infection. The only sample taken from the Charadriiformes order belonging to the yellow-footed gull was tested positive. A relatively high rate of infection with chlamydial agents was demonstrated in this study.
Regarding the close contact of infected animals with both workers and visitors, these findings are alarming. The affected aviary centres must implement a strategy to monitor, detect and control the infection, as it poses a considerable public health risk. On the other hand, the infection of rehabilitating captive birds in rescue centres is particularly relevant because the infection might be reintroduced to endangered wild populations, posing a conservation and environmental hazard.
禽衣原体能够感染不同的鸟类物种，并可能导致康复设施和动物园中珍贵鸟类的死亡。它们还对这些场所的游客和工作人员构成潜在的人畜共患病风险。
本研究旨在评估衣原体在两个不同的公共鸟舍和一个康复中心的发生情况。
从属于11个不同目、48个不同鸟类物种中采集了108份样本。通过聚合酶链反应检测衣原体16s rRNA基因，对这些样本进行衣原体感染检测。
37份样本衣原体DNA呈阳性。在鹦形目（60%）和鸽形目（77.8%）中检测到高感染率。这些结果表明这些目鸟类中衣原体感染的频率相对较高。隼形目中这种感染的发生率为33.3%。本研究中调查的鸡形目物种衣原体感染发生率较低（16.7%）。从属于黄脚银鸥的鸻形目中采集的唯一一份样本检测呈阳性。本研究显示衣原体病原体感染率相对较高。
鉴于受感染动物与工作人员和游客都有密切接触，这些结果令人担忧。受影响的鸟舍中心必须实施监测、检测和控制感染的策略，因为这会带来相当大的公共卫生风险。另一方面，救援中心中圈养康复鸟类的感染尤其值得关注，因为这种感染可能会再次传播给濒危野生种群，对保护和环境造成危害。
