A microbiological survey of 73 pellets collected from different birds of prey species housed at the Wildlife
Rescue
and
Rehabilitation
Center
of
Napoli
(southern
Italy)
was
performed.
Pellets
were
analyzed
by
culture and biochemical methods as well as by serotyping and polymerase chain reaction. We isolated
a wide range of bacteria some of them also pathogens for humans (i.e. Salmonella enterica serotype
Typhimurium, Campylobacter coli, Escherichia coli O serogroups). This study highlights the potential role
of birds of prey as asymptomatic carriers of pathogenic bacteria which could be disseminated in the
environment not only through the birds of prey feces but also through their pellets.