Molecular identification of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale in wildlife birds of Khouzestan province

Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT) is known as one of the involved organisms in respiratory diseases of different species of birds. So far, numerous reports have been presented about the isolation of the bacterium from commercial poultry flocks in Iran. This study was designed for molecular identification and evaluation of antimicrobial susceptibility of ORT bacterium in wildlife birds in Khouzestan province. After collection of 23 tracheal swab samples, four (17.3%) strains of ORT bacterium were isolated based on cultural methods; then three (13%) isolates were confirmed by application of specific primers. All strains isolated in this research were from Falconiformes (21.4%), which indicates the high rate of ORT isolation than that of other understudy birds (P