A SURVEY OF FREE-LIVING BIRDS AS HOSTS AND LESSORS OF MICROBIAL PATHOGENS

Wild birds from a variety of localities and habitats were examined fro m 1969 to 1993 for microorganisms pathogenic to homeotherm vertebrates . Sedlec virus (Bunyaviridae) was isolated from the blood of Acrocepha lus scirpaceus out of 1,085 avian blood samples (48 species). Borrelia e were detected in 7.5% of larval and 12.2% of nymphal Ixodes ricinus ticks removed from 45 forest birds. Salmonellae (S. typhimurium 32 str ains, S. enteritidis 6 strains, S. panama and S. anatum 1 strain each) were cultivated from cloacal swabs of 5.3% of birds examined (24.7% o f Larus ridibundus, 4.8% of Anser anser, and one Fulica atra) out of 7 56 birds (57 spp.). Clostridium botulinum type C toxin was detected in moribund Anas platyrhynchos, Aythya fuligula, Cygnus olor and L. ridi bundus. A number of potentially pathogenic fungi were isolated from av ian samples (502 feather samples, 73 cloacal swabs, 19 droppings, 54 p ellets and 270 avian nests), e.g., Absidia corymbifera, Aspergillus fu migatus, A. flavus, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Emmonsi a parva var. crescens, Fusarium oxysporum, Geotrichum candidum, Micros porum gypseum, Rhizomucor pusillus and Rhizopus arrhizus.