shiga toxin-producing escherichia coli (stec): zoonotic risks associated with pet birds in home environments in tabriz, iran

Companion birds are frequently bred as pets worldwide, but little is known about the zoonotic risks of these animals. the objective of this study was to investigate the presence of shiga toxin-producing escherichia coli (stec) in the feces and internal organs of companion birds.200 samples of pet bird s feces, liver, kidney, brain, heart, and oviduct (100 pigeons and rest for canaries, lovebirds, cockatiels, mina chickens, and finches) were collected from different areas of tabriz and evaluated for detection of e. coli by bacteriological methods. fifty (e. coli) strains were identified and the presence of the stx and stx1 genes was determined using pcr. using this method, 66.6% (2/3) of the stec strains were determined to be positive for stx1 gene. the results revealed a stec frequency of 1.5% in the birds (3/200), with a percentage of 100% in cockatiels (3/63). the stec-positive results indicate the zoonotic risk of companion birds in home environments.