Prevalence of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 in pet birds in Yazd, Iran

Pet birds can harbor diseases that can be transmitted to their owners. Although pet ownership is not without risks, many of Iranian households own pet birds and are therefore at risk of a number of bacterial, protozoal, fungal, viral, or parasitic zoonoses. Escherichia Coli O157:H7 is responsible for outbreaks of human intestinal diseases and the potentially fatal haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS) worldwide. Considering people's interests to keep pet birds and the potential ability of pet birds to transmit Escherichia Coli O157:H7 to humans, the present study was conducted to evaluate Escherichia Coli O157:H7 infection in Yazd pet birds. In this cross-sectional study, 180 samples of pet bird feces (150 canaries (Serinus canari) and 30 lovebirds (Agapornis personata)) were collected from different areas of Yazd and evaluated for detection of E. Coli O157:H7 by bacteriological and PCR methods. The overall prevalence of Escherichia Coli in canary feces was 72.66% (109 out of 150) while no positive sample was found in the lovebird feces. Escherichia Coli O157:H7 was not found in any samples. The present study suggests pet birds feces are not sources of E. Coli O157:H7 in Yazd, Iran.