The effects that microorganisms (bacteria, viruses and fungi) have on their hosts remain unexplored for most vulture species. This is especially relevant for vultures, as their diet consists of carcasses in various stages of decomposition, which are breeding grounds for potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Here we review current knowledge of bacterial, viral and mycotic microorganisms present in wild vultures. We consider their potential to cause disease in vultures and whether this poses any population‐level threats. Furthermore, we address the question of whether vultures may act as disease spreaders or mitigators. We found 76 articles concerning bacterial, viral and mycotic microorganisms present in 13 vulture species, 57 evaluating bacteria, 13 evaluating viruses and six evaluating mycotic microorganisms. These studies come from all continents where vultures are present, but mainly from Europe and North America, and the most studied species was the Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus. We found that vultures are colonized by zoonotic pathogens, and even host‐specific human pathogens. Some recorded bacteria showed multi‐antibiotic resistance, especially those that can be associated with anthropogenic food subsides such as supplementary feeding stations. We found evidence that vulture health can be affected by some microorganisms, producing a wide array of clinical alterations that have the potential to influence mortality risk and fitness. We did not find clear scientific evidence that vultures play an epidemiological role spreading microorganisms to humans and other species. However, there is evidence that vultures could prevent the spread of infectious diseases through their removal of decomposing organic material. The evaluation of vulture exposure to microorganisms is of fundamental importance to design better conservation policies for this threatened group, which may serve a key role as ecosystem cleaners.

中文翻译：

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秃，中细菌，病毒和霉菌微生物对野生动植物保护，生态系统服务和公共卫生的影响

对于大多数秃鹰物种，微生物（细菌，病毒和真菌）对宿主的影响尚未发现。这对于秃鹰尤其重要，因为它们的饮食包括处于不同分解阶段的car体，这些cas体是潜在致病微生物的繁殖地。在这里，我们将对野生秃ul中存在的细菌，病毒和霉菌微生物的最新知识进行回顾。我们考虑了它们在秃鹰中致病的可能性，以及这是否对种群构成威胁。此外，我们解决了秃鹰可能充当疾病传播者或缓解者的问题。我们发现76篇文章涉及13种秃鹰物种中存在的细菌，病毒和真菌微生物，其中57种评估细菌，13种评估病毒和6种评估真菌微生物。黄花猴。我们发现秃zoo被人畜共患病的病原体甚至宿主特定的人类病原体所定殖。一些记录在案的细菌表现出多重抗生素抗性，尤其是那些与人为食物减退有关的细菌，例如辅助饲喂站。我们发现有证据表明，某些微生物会影响秃鹰的健康，从而产生各种各样的临床变化，这些变化可能会影响死亡风险和健康状况。我们没有找到明确的科学证据表明秃鹰在将微生物传播给人类和其他物种方面发挥流行病学作用。但是，有证据表明，秃鹰可以通过去除分解的有机物质来防止传染病的传播。