The spread of pathogens by animals is a global issue that poses a significant threat to human health. The feral pigeon (Columba livia forma domestica) lives in cities near humans, where it nests, eats, and litters. The pigeons are known to be zoonotic carriers of several pathogenic fungi which can be transmitted to humans through contamination of air and water by their feces. This study aims to review the literature to determine which fungi from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) fungal priority pathogen list (2022) have been detected in pigeon feces and from which countries. Literature searches were conducted in PubMed and Web of Science in April 2023, where 32 papers comprised the results in this study. Among the fungal species listed by the World Health Organization (WHO), 11 of them have been reported in pigeon feces. The majority of studies focused on Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans. All the 11 detected fungal pathogens can cause human diseases where immunocompromised and critically ill individuals are at a higher risk of serious infections. Thus, more information about the risk of exposure to feral pigeons is needed due to their pathogenic potential. Furthermore, it is important to deter pigeons from nesting in sensitive areas such as near hospitals. Population size of pigeons could also be controlled to improve their health and prevent the spread of pathogens. Most studies included in the results were conducted in countries located in South America, Africa, and Asia. There seems to be a limited number of studies investigating the fungi species on the WHO’s list and their global distribution is not extensively studied. Global research on the prevalence of the fungi species on WHO’s list is necessary to determine their health impact, especially as climate change might increase the distribution of pathogenic fungi.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-503864 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Hermann, Elin |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för biologisk grundutbildning |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
Page generated in 0.0055 seconds