Lack of Evidence That Bird Feeders Are a Source of Salmonellosis during Winter in Poland.

Martyna Frątczak,Jan Szeptycki,Jacek J Nowakowski,Beata Dulisz,Tomasz Janiszewski,Jarosław Wilczyński,Piotr Indykiewicz,Piotr Tryjanowski

doi:10.3390/ani11061831

Abstract

Simple SummaryBird feeders are known to be a transfer site for many important bird pathogens, such as zoonotic Salmonella spp., known to be widespread among wild birds in Poland. The aim of the study was to investigate (1) whether feeders can be a source of Salmonella spp., (2) whether the risk is the same for feeders located in cities and rural areas and (3) whether there is a different level of contamination with Salmonella spp. between old and new feeders. Data were collected in winter 2018 in Poland, and in total, 204 feeders were sampled. Material for analysis consisted of the remains of food and feces. We did not find the presence of Salmonella spp. in any of the tested samples collected from bird feeders. Reasons for the isolation of Salmonella spp. from feeders not being successful lie in the low intensity of bacterial shedding by infected wild birds and low survival of bacteria in the environment.Bird feeders are known to be a transfer site for many important bird pathogens, such as zoonotic Salmonella spp., known to be widespread among wild birds in Poland. The aim of the study was to investigate (1) whether feeders can be a source of Salmonella spp., (2) whether the risk is the same for feeders located in cities and rural areas and (3) whether there is a different level of contamination with Salmonella spp. between old and new feeders. Data were collected in the period 12 January–28 February 2018 in four cities in Poland and nearby rural areas. In total, 204 feeders were sampled. The samples from feeders were taken after a 2-week period of feeding birds. Material for analysis consisted of the remains of food and feces. We did not find the presence of Salmonella spp. in any of the tested samples collected from bird feeders. Therefore, the estimated value of the 95% confidence interval for the binary data was 0.000–0.018. Reasons for the isolation of Salmonella spp. from feeders not being successful lie in the low intensity of bacterial shedding by infected wild birds and low survival of bacteria in the environment in bird feces—which are still not well studied.

Highlights

Along with the progressive urbanization, the observation of plants and animals in the city surroundings is the only opportunity for many people to interact daily with nature [1].One of the activities allowing this is bird feeding, which has been well investigated to have a positive effect on the health, well-being and ecological awareness of people [2]
The aims of our study were to investigate whether bird feeders can act as a source of infection with bacteria Salmonella spp.; whether there is a difference between Salmonella spp. presence in feeders located in cities and rural areas; and whether there is a different level of contamination with Salmonella spp. between already used, old feeders and new ones, provided for the needs of the study
We did not find the presence of Salmonella spp. in any of the 204 samples collected from bird feeders

Summary

Introduction

One of the activities allowing this is bird feeding, which has been well investigated to have a positive effect on the health, well-being and ecological awareness of people [2]. Feeding birds entails some threats [5], the most important being the increased exposure of birds to pathogens and the higher risk of pathogen transmission between them. This is favored by the high density of bird gatherings in feeding places, the contact of birds of many different species in feeding places in combinations that are unlikely to occur in nature, and usually the poor hygiene of feeders and other feeding places, leading to significant microbiological contamination [6,7]. It has been studied that the density and competition appearing between birds in feeders can lead to severe stress and, as a result, immunosuppression, which in turn contributes to greater sensitivity to pathogens [7,8]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion