When Vibrios Take Flight: A Meta-analysis of Pathogenic Vibrios Species in Wild and Domestic Birds

Of the over 100 species in the genus Vibrio, approximately twelve are associated with clinical disease, such as cholera and vibriosis. Crucially, eleven of those twelve--V. alginolyticus, V. cholerae, V. cincinnatiensis, V. hollinsae, e.g., Grimontia hollinsae, V. furnissii, V. mimicus, V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, V. harveyi, V. scophthalmi and V. metschnikovi--have also been isolated from birds. Since 1965, pathogenic Vibrio species have been consistently isolated from aquatic and ground-foraging bird species, which has implications for public health, as well as the One Health paradigm defined as an ecology-inspired, integrative framework for the study of health and disease, inclusive of environmental, human, and animal health. In this meta-analysis, we identified 76 studies from the primary literature which report on or examine birds as hosts for pathogenic Vibrio species. We found that the burden of disease in birds was most commonly associated with V. cholerae, followed by V. metschnikovi and V. parahaemolyticus. Meta-analysis wide prevalences of the Vibrio pathogens varied from 19% for V. parahaemolyticus to 1% for V. mimicus. Wild and domestic birds were both affected, which may have implications for conservation, as well as agriculturally associated avian species. As pathogenic Vibrios become more abundant throughout the world as a result of warming estuaries and oceans, susceptible avian species should be continually monitored as potential reservoirs for these pathogens.