Scientists studying pigeons have found that the often reviled urban birds that dominate city squares around the world carry two disease-causing bugs that make them a public health hazard. The findings of the study by a team of researchers in Spain show that although these bacteria can be harmful to humans, they appear to cause no harm to the birds themselves. As a result, pigeons can act as living “reservoirs” for some harmful bugs, the scientists said. “Animals that live in close contact with humans can be dangerous reservoirs of human pathogens,” wrote Fernando Esperon from the Animal Health Research Centre in Madrid, who led the study. For this study, Esperon and colleagues analysed 118 pigeons captured using gun-propelled nets from urban areas of Madrid to find out the prevalence of certain bacteria known to cause disease in humans. They found a bug called Chlamydophila psittaci in 52.6 percent of the pigeons captured, and another bug called Campylobacter jejuni in 69.1 percent. Psittacosis infection in humans often starts with flu-like symptoms and can develop into life-threatening pneumonia. And according to Esperon, bugs from the campylobacter species are one of main causes of acute diarrhea across the world.
