Research on selected etiological agents of infection diseases in free living birds, their zoonotic potential and public health exposure

Ecological and epizootiological study of wild birds on the territory of the Slovak Republic was the main aim of this project. Among the most important results are: optimisation of methods for catching wild birds and standardising of non-invasive and invasive sampling methods in the field. Using the laboratory methods, the hypothesis about incidence of Chlamydophila spp. in feral pigeons and wild birds was confirmed. Also infection with West Nile virus in wild birds was confirmed. The circulation of Rickettsia spp. in developmental stages of ornithophilic tick Ixodes ricinus was detected.