Rare species with small population sizes are vulnerable to perturbations such as disease, inbreeding, or random events. The threat arising from microbial pathogens could be large and other species could act as reservoirs for pathogens. We report finding three enteric bacterial species, Salmonella Amager, Campylobacter jejuni, and urease-positive ther-mophilic Campylobacter, in nestling free-flying peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) in Sweden in 2000. Campylobacter jejuni isolates exhibited marked genetic similarities to an isolate from a human, providing a possible association between a human-associated strain of this bacterium and peregrine falcons.
Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Vol. 40 • No. 3
July 2004
Vol. 40 • No. 3
July 2004
Campylobacter jejuni
epidemiology
Peregrine Falcon
Salmonella Amager
wild birds
