Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Feare, C.J.
Right arrow Articles by Bishop, J.D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Canada goose (Branta canadensis) droppings as a potential source of pathogenic bacteria

C.J. Feare

Department of Pure and Applied Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT and WildWings Bird Management, 2 North View Cottages, Grayswood Common, Haslemere, Surrey GU27 2DN, UK

M.F. Sanders

Central Science Laboratory (MAFF), Sand Hutton, York Y04 1LZ

R. Blasco

Central Science Laboratory (MAFF), Sand Hutton, York Y04 1LZ

J.D. Bishop

Central Science Laboratory (MAFF), Sand Hutton, York Y04 1LZ

Canada goose droppings, collected in parks to which the public had access, were screened for a range of bacteria that could be pathogenic in man. Droppings of Canada geese, and other waterfowl, did contain such bacteria, including some that are well-known causes of illness in man. These bacteria, plus a species of Salmonella that was experimentally inoculated into droppings, were shown to survive and multiply in the droppings for up to one month after their deposition by geese. Canada geese ranged further from water than other waterfowl species and thus distributed their droppings over a larger area of park grassland. This more widespread distribution of their droppings leads Canada geese to pose a greater potential health risk than other waterfowl studied here, but variations in human responses to challenge with bacteria, and variations in human and waterfowl behaviour in public parks, renders quantification of this risk impossible.

Key Words: Canada geese • disease risk • public health

The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, Vol. 119, No. 3, 146-155 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/146642409911900303
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?