MoZWE’s experience with direct surveys has highlighted the importance of monitoring diseases in pigeons (Columba livia) due to their proximity to humans, particularly in urban areas. Pigeons and humans share similar environments, which raises concerns about the transmission of zoonotic diseases.
An active survey of avian influenza A viruses (AIV) and bacterial Chlamydia psittaci zoonosis was undergone in Bangkok urbanization [1,2]. The AIV survey revealed that almost all results were free from AIV infection, except the H9 subtype showed evidence of exposure (6.9%: 32 out of 485 pigeons) by the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. This result reflects that these pigeons were not a potential species in AIV infection, although it is possibly a slightly natural infection from reservoir- or/and susceptible host [1]. This probability of AIV natural infection in the pigeon served as a “bridge species” (Figure 1 – I). Moreover, the bacterial Chlamydia zoonotic disease survey interestingly found 10% (44 out of 407 pigeons) by molecular method. Most positive samples shown molecularly match with C. psittaci infection in asymptomatic pigeons [2]. This finding possibly indicates the role of this pigeon as a “reservoir host” (Figure 1 – II) of this bacterial zoonotic disease. Thus, monitoring disease in pigeons should be implemented to control the disease. However, the colonization behavior of pigeons supports the transmission of the pathogen, although it was in open areas as well as paddy fields—likewise, infection of Haemoproteus columbae, a blood parasite in this pigeon. The first study in Thailand, based on a survey of H. columbae infection, found 27.6% (24/87 pigeon infection) [3]. This site showed a lower prevalence of infection than pigeons in urban areas, with almost 100% infection. This high infection found in asymptomatic pigeons reveals the role of the pigeons as a “specific host” (Figure 1 – III) of H. columbae.
Therefore, pigeons play a different role as the “host” (Figure 1 – H) that depends on the pathogen’s interest. Furthermore, the role of the pigeon was important in determining disease management.
References
- Prompiram P, Sariya L, Poltep K, et al. Overview of avian influenza virus in urban feral pigeons in Bangkok, Thailand. Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 2022;84:101784. doi:10.1016/j.cimid.2022.101784
- Sariya L, Prompiram P, Tangsudjai S, Poltep K, Chamsai T, Mongkolphan C, et al. Detection and characterization of Chlamydophila psittaci in asymptomatic feral pigeons (Columba livia domestica) in central Thailand. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine. 2015;8(2):94–7. doi:10.1016/s1995-7645(14)60195-4
- Prompiram P, Mongkolphan C, Poltep K, Chunchob S, Sontigun N, Chareonviriyaphap T. Baseline study of the morphological and genetic characteristics of Haemoproteus parasites in wild pigeons (Columba livia) from paddy fields in Thailand. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife. 2023;21:153–9. doi:10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.04.003
Photo by Madison Oren on Unsplash
Phirom Prompiram
Senior Researcher, The Monitoring and Surveillance Center for Zoonotic Diseases in Wildlife and Exotic Animals (MoZWE)