Chlamydiaceae in North Atlantic seabirds admitted to a wildlife rescue center in Western France

• Published in: Applied and Environmental Microbiology
• Main Authors: Aaziz, R., Gourlay, Philippe, Vorimore, F., Sachse, K., Siarkou, V. I., Laroucau, Karine
• Other Authors: Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES), Biologie, Epidémiologie et analyse de risque en Santé Animale (BIOEPAR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-École nationale vétérinaire, agroalimentaire et de l'alimentation Nantes-Atlantique (ONIRIS), École nationale vétérinaire, agroalimentaire et de l'alimentation Nantes-Atlantique (ONIRIS), LUNAM Université Nantes Angers Le Mans, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2015
• Subjects: [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Common Murre; North Atlantic; Uria aalge; uria
• Online Access: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02632645; https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00778-15

International audience Birds are the primary hosts of Chlamydia psittaci, a bacterium that can cause avian chlamydiosis in birds and psittacosis in humans. Wild seabirds are frequently admitted to wildlife rescue centers (WRC) at European Atlantic coasts, for example, in connection with oil spills. To investigate the extent of chlamydial shedding by these birds and the resulting risk for animals in care and the medical staff, seabirds from a French WRC were sampled from May 2011 to January 2014. By use of a quantitative PCR (qPCR), 195 seabirds belonging to 4 orders, 5 families and 13 species were examined, of which 18.5% proved to be Chlamydiaceae positive. The highest prevalence of shedders was found in northern gannets (Morus bassanus) (41%), followed by European herring gulls (Larus argentatus) (14%) and common murres (Uria aalge) (7%). Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of qPCR-positive northern gannet samples revealed two variants of a strain closely related to C. psittaci. In European herring gulls and in one common murre, strains showing high sequence similarity to the atypical Chlamydiaceae-like C122 previously found in gulls were detected. Our study shows that seabirds from the northeastern Atlantic Ocean carry several chlamydial organisms, including C. psittaci-related strains. The staff in WRCs should take protective measures, particularly in the case of mass admissions of seabirds.