Wild-bird feces as a source of Campylobacter jejuni infection in childrenʹs playgrounds in Iran

Wild birds are important to public health, and they carry immerging zoonotic pathogens as a reservoir host. They often cause acute gastroenteritis in humans. Many playgrounds in parks are natural habitats for wild birds. Childrenʹs behavior, the frequent hand-mouth contact in this age group, is also likely to increase the risk of eating infective material. In this study, we looked into the likelihood that contamination by wild-birds of childrenʹs playground is a source of human infection. We did that by estimating the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in fresh and dried wild-bird fecal samples. From July to August, 2013, we collected 200 samples of fresh and dried feces from 5 publicly accessible childrenʹs playgrounds in Mashhad, Iran. Our data by using a cultural method and a test, showed that 17.5% of feces samples contained Campylobacter spp. It was significantly (P < 0.05) more prevalent in the fresh samples (23.85%) than the dried samples (5.7%). We only detected one species of Campylobacter spp. from wild birds in this study. In conclusion, the results of this study showed wild bird species may set up a reservoir for Campylobacter spp. They could be of risk to humans. As far as we are aware, this is the first study in Iran to isolate Campylobacter spp. from childrenʹs playgrounds.