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Racing, ornamental and city pigeons carry shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) with different Shiga toxin subtypes, urging further analysis of their epidemiological role in the spread of STEC.

Pigeons are known to shed zoonotic pathogens. Therefore, in this study a total of 366 droppings from pigeons were analysed using PCR and DNA-DNA-hybridization for Shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC). Specimens were collected from three different groups of pigeons: 247 collective and 3 individual droppings from racing pigeons, 26 collective and 40 individual from ornamental pigeons as well as 50 collective droppings from city pigeons. Initial screening experiments revealed a total 245 (66.9%) droppings to be Shiga toxin gene positive. Of these 36% were positive for stx1, 9% for stx2 and 37% for stx2f. Prevalence significantly (p < 0.001) differed in regard to the pigeon groups examined. Droppings from racing pigeons showed prevalence of 45.6% for stx1, 3.2% for stx2, and 33.2% for stx2f, while the distribution of stx-positive specimens was more even in ornamental pigeons (15% stx1, 27% stx2, and 26% stx2f). In specimens from city pigeons, stx2f was found to be most prevalent with 76% (2% stx1, 16% stx2). In 161 samples, stx genes were detected by PCR as well as DNA-DNA-hybridization. From these 161 samples, 20 were randomly chosen for isolation of STEC. A total of 27 STEC strains were isolated from 13 of these 20 samples. Six of the STEC were positive for stx1, 21 harbored stx2f. Further typing for virulence factor genes revealed the existence of eae in 4 of the 6 stx1-positive strains, as well as in 19 of the 21 stx2f-positive strains. eae is known to be crucially involved in the ability of E. coli strains to cause the "attaching and effacing" lesion in the gut, while stx2fSTEC are assumed to be host specific for pigeons. Here we report the first description of stx1- and eae-positive STEC strains in pigeons from Germany, especially in racing and ornamental pigeons. Taking into account the close contact between fanciers and pigeons, these findings warrant a more critical appraisal of these zoonotic pathogens in pigeons.