Today we've been sampling at the Devon Bird of Prey Centre! Acinetobacter baumannii is a critical priority target for new antimicrobials, and phages that infect and kill it are of high value for future phage therapy. Though the natural reservoir of A. baumannii is poorly defined, it has previously been found associated with birds as part of their natural microbiome.

Just like in any ecosystem, where you find prey, you find the predators that feed on them. So, we hypothesised that there's a reasonable chance of finding phages for A. baumannii in bird droppings. As far as we know, this might be the first time that anyone has targeted birds of prey to hunt for phages! Sampling kits in hand, we diligently searched the homes of the beautiful birds and took samples of droppings and the water baths.

Mowgli the American Black Vulture was VERY curious about the goings-on in his enclosure! Mozart the Eagle Owl had some time in the fresh air whilst we sampled his home. The samples were then taken back to the lab for processing. They will be mixed with lawns of our target pathogens to see if we observe viral 'plaques', which would indicate new and exciting viruses have been discovered!

These kinds of fecal samples carry a small risk of pathogen transmission to those handling them so the first step is to treat them in a special safety hood designed to protect the user. If you're a Citizen Phage hunter, we request at the moment that you do not send us fecal samples, because we can't process them quickly and safely.

A big THANK YOU to Karen and Caitlin for allowing us to take samples and for showing us their beautiful birds. If you're near Newton Abbot, we highly recommend paying the Centre a visit!