Antibody prevalence and isolation of Chlamydia psittaci from pigeons (Columba livia).

Departamento de Patología Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, Spain.

The isolation of Chlamydia psittaci and serological detection of Chlamydia-specific antibodies in racing pigeons and pigeons from public parks is described. Several serological methods (complement fixation test, indirect microimmunofluorescence test, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) were compared with bacteriological techniques (isolation both in embryonated eggs and McCoy cell monolayers). Tests confirmed that 28.6%, 33.5%, and 35.9% of the pigeons, respectively, were seropositive by the tests mentioned above. Chlamydiae were isolated from 13% of the fecal specimens in ovocultures and from 18% of the fecal specimens in cell cultures. No significant differences between the two groups of pigeons were found (at a 95% confidence level, alpha = 0.05) using the hypothesis test of the difference between proportions of two populations. The serological and bacteriological techniques used are compared and discussed.

PMID: 8363515 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]