The role of starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in the epidemiology of potentially human bacterial pathogens

Since a long time a public garden in Basle is known as a site for overnight accomodation and assembly of starlings. The birds cause an immense faecal contamination of the park and the neighbouring district. A nursery and a pr imary school are directly affected. To evaluate the health risk coming from the starlings droppings for the population, particularly for the children and to assess the role of starling sin the transmission of diseases to huma ns and in the epidemiology of human diseases the presence of human bacteria l pathogens in the faeces of starlings was determined. Some of the isolated strains were further typed and compared to strains of human origin. C. jej uni, L. monocytogenes and C. psittaci were most often found. The typisation of some C. jejuni and L. monocytogenes isolates showed a great variety of geno-, sero- respectively phage types that did not belong to the strains mo st often found in isolates of human origin. Starlings can harbour human pat hogens and therefore a potential risk of infection comes from their droppin gs. It seems however rather improbable, that these birds present a constant direct source of infection for human beings.