Comparative genomics reveals a lack of evidence for pigeons as a main source of stx-carrying Escherichia coli causing disease in humans and the common existence of hybrid Shiga toxin-producing and enteropathogenic E. coli pathotypes.

Wild birds, in particular pigeons are considered a natural reservoir for stx Serotypes and sequence types of stx Comparative genomics revealed that isolates from mild human disease are dominated by serotypes not encountered in the pigeon reservoir. It is therefore unlikely that zoonotic transmission from this reservoir plays an important role in the contribution to the majority of human disease associated with st