Avian influenza surveillance is a requirement for commercial trade in ostrich products, but influenza A viruses (IAVs) have proven difficult to isolate from ostrich tracheal swabs that test positive using molecular methods. We hypothesized that microbes unique to the ostrich trachea propagate in the transport medium after sampling and affect viral viability. We cultured tracheal swabs from 50 ostriches on 4 farms in South Africa, and recovered and identified 13 bacterial, 1 yeast, and 2 fungal species. Dietzia sp. had not been identified previously in the oropharyngeal tract of a bird, to our knowledge. The bacteria were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility, and most aerobic species, except for Streptococcus sp. and Pseudomonas sp., were sensitive to enrofloxacin; all were susceptible to sulfonamide. Virus inhibition experiments determined that ostrich-source Streptococcus sp., Pantoea sp., and Citrobacter freundii produced extracellular metabolites that caused a substantial reduction in the IAV titers of 99.9%. Streptomyces, Corynebacterium, Staphylococcus, Arthrobacter gandavensis, Pseudomonas putida, and Acinetobacter spp. similarly reduced the viability of IAV from 77.6% to 24.1%. Dietzia appeared to have no effect, but Rothia dentocariosa, Rhodotorula spp., and Clostridium spp. slightly increased the viability of IAV by 25.9, 34.9, and 58.5%, respectively.

禽流感监测是鸵鸟产品商业贸易的一项要求，但事实证明，很难从使用分子方法检测呈阳性的鸵鸟气管拭子中分离出甲型流感病毒 (IAV)。我们假设鸵鸟气管特有的微生物在取样后在运输介质中繁殖并影响病毒活力。我们在南非的 4 个农场培养了 50 只鸵鸟的气管拭子，回收并鉴定了 13 种细菌、1 种酵母和 2 种真菌。Dietzia sp。据我们所知，以前从未在鸟类的口咽道中发现过。对细菌进行了抗菌敏感性测试，大多数需氧菌，除了链球菌。和假单胞菌sp.，对恩诺沙星敏感；所有人都对磺胺类药物敏感。病毒抑制实验确定鸵鸟源链球菌、泛菌属和弗氏柠檬酸杆菌产生的细胞外代谢物导致 IAV 滴度大幅降低 99.9%。链霉菌、棒状杆菌、葡萄球菌、甘达文节杆菌、恶臭假单胞菌和不动杆菌属。同样将 IAV 的生存能力从 77.6% 降低到 24.1%。Dietzia似乎没有效果，但Rothia dentocariosa , Rhodotorula和梭菌属。IAV 的生存能力分别略微提高了 25.9%、34.9% 和 58.5%。