Distribution of Campylobacter jejuni in wild birds and serogroup of isolates by slide agglutination technique.

Distribution of thermophilic campylobacter was investigated in the total of 700 wild birds living in urban areas of Japan and mountainous environments around the base of Mt. Fuji. Thermophilic campylobacters were isolated from 55 (7.9%) of the 700 birds. By species, they were detected in 51(13.5%) of 378 feral pigeons, 2 (2.4%) of 82 pintails and 3 (60.0%) of 5 sparrows. However, campylobacters were not isolated from other 235 wild birds consisting of swallows, sparrows caught at Sagamihara, black-tailed gulls, pintails caught at Tokyo, eastern turthledoves caught at Ebina and grey starling, brown thrush, narcissus flycatcher, etc. caught at Mt. Fuji. In pigeons, large differences were demonstrated in the detection rates of this bacterium depending on the site of capture and even among the groups captured in the same area, varying from zero to 50.0%. All the strains isolated from pigeons and sparrows were C. jejuni. Two strains isolated from pintails were identified to be C. coli, while no C. laridis was detected. Seventeen (34.7%) of 49 strains of C. jejuni isolated from feral pigeons and 2 strains (100.0%) from sparrows were serotyped into some of the author's serogroup system (TCK 1-TCK 32) by typing with slide agglutination. Especially TCK 20 was frequently found in feral pigeons. Two strains of C. coli isolated from pintails were not serotyped by any of the antisera to C. jejuni.