Overpopulation of domestic pigeons is considered to be one of the major problems of urban centers, as these birds are responsible for the dissemination of relevant pathogens to animal and human health. The aim of this study was to detect potentially pathogenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. in domestic pigeons captured in areas near silos used for grain and feed storage, analyzing the antimicrobial sensitivity and the presence of virulence-associated genes. We evaluated 41 pigeons. From each bird, cecal contents and a pool of viscera (heart, spleen, and liver) were collected. Fifty strains of E. coli and three strains of S. Typhimurium were isolated. The antimicrobial susceptibility assay showed that 2% of the isolates of E. coli were resistant to chloramphenicol and the combination of sulfamethoxazole + trimethoprim and 4% to tetracycline, doxycycline, and sulfonamide. The three S. Typhimurium strains were sensitive to all antimicrobials tested. The pathogenicity profile demonstrated that no E. coli isolates showed a STEC compatible profile. Regarding the APEC pathotype, all genes were observed in 8% of E. coli, 6% had only the iss gene and 4% presented ompT, hlyF, and iutA genes. invA, hilA, avrA, and lpfA genes were detected in 100% of Salmonella isolates. The sitC and pefA genes were only present in one strain and the remaining genes were detected in two. In conclusion, it was found that pigeons living in the vicinity of silos are carriers of important pathogens, and control measures should be taken to minimize animal and human health risks.

家鸽种群过多被认为是城市中心的主要问题之一，因为这些鸟类负责将相关病原体传播给动物和人类健康。这项研究的目的是检测潜在的致病性大肠杆菌和沙门氏菌。在用于粮仓和饲料储存的筒仓附近捕获的家鸽中，分析其抗菌敏感性和与毒力相关的基因的存在。我们评估了41羽鸽子。从每只鸟中收集盲肠内容物和内脏池（心脏，脾脏和肝脏）。五十菌株大肠杆菌和的三个菌株S.鼠伤寒沙门氏菌中分离得到。抗菌药敏试验表明，2％的分离株大肠杆菌对氯霉素以及磺胺甲恶唑+甲氧苄啶和4％的四环素，强力霉素和磺胺类药物的结合具有抗性。三个S.鼠伤寒沙门氏菌菌株对所有测试的抗微生物剂是敏感的。致病性谱表明没有大肠杆菌分离株显示出STEC兼容谱。关于APEC的基因型，在8％的大肠杆菌中观察到所有基因，6％的仅iss基因，4％的ompT，hlyF和iutA基因。invA的，肺门，阿夫拉和lpfA，在100％中检测到的基因沙门氏菌。的SITC和pefA基因是仅在一个应变本，并在两个分别检测的剩余基因。总之，发现居住在筒仓附近的鸽子是重要病原体的携带者，应采取控制措施以最大程度地减少动物和人类健康的风险。