Hunted Wild Boars in Sardinia: Prevalence, Antimicrobial Resistance and Genomic Analysis of Salmonella and Yersinia enterocolitica

Abstract

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate Salmonella and Yersinia enterocolitica prevalence in wild boars hunted in Sardinia and further characterize the isolates and analyse antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns. In order to assess slaughtering hygiene, an evaluation of carcasses microbial contamination was also carried out. Between 2020 and 2022, samples were collected from 66 wild boars hunted during two hunting seasons from the area of two provinces in northern and central Sardinia (Italy). Samples collected included colon content samples, mesenteric lymph nodes samples and carcass surface samples. Salmonella and Y. enterocolitica detection was conducted on each sample; also, on carcass surface samples, total aerobic mesophilic count and Enterobacteriaceae count were evaluated. On Salmonella and Y. enterocolitica isolates, antimicrobial susceptibility was tested and whole genome sequencing was applied. Salmonella was identified in the colon content samples of 3/66 (4.5%) wild boars; isolates were S. enterica subs. Salamae, S. ser. Elomrane and S. enterica subs. Enterica. Y. enterocolitica was detected from 20/66 (30.3%) wild boars: in 18/66 (27.3%) colon contents, in 3/66 (4.5%) mesenteric lymph nodes and in 3/49 (6.1%) carcass surface samples. In all, 24 Y. enterocolitica isolates were analysed and 20 different sequence types were detected, with the most common being ST 860. Regarding AMR, no resistance was detected in Salmonella isolates, while expected resistance towards β-lactams (blaA gene) and streptogramin (vatF gene) was observed in Y. enterocolitica isolates (91.7% and 4.2%, respectively). The low presence of AMR is probably due to the low anthropic impact in the wild areas. Regarding the surface contamination of carcasses, values (mean ± standard deviation log10 CFU/cm2) were 2.46 ± 0.97 for ACC and 1.07 ± 1.18 for Enterobacteriaceae. The results of our study confirm that wild boars can serve as reservoirs and spreaders of Salmonella and Y. enterocolitica; the finding of Y. enterocolitica presence on carcass surface highlights how meat may become superficially contaminated, especially considering that contamination is linked to the conditions related to the hunting, handling and processing of game animals.

Salmonella in Wild Boar Meat: Prevalence and Risk Assessment in Central Italy (Umbria and Marche Region)

“…Several authors have reported the absence of Salmonella spp. on carcass surfaces [40][41][42][43][44] and meat [45][46][47], whereas other authors have reported a prevalence similar to those found in our survey, in nearby geographic areas of Italy (0.9% in carcass swabs from the Campania region; 1.1% in carcass swabs from the Emilia Romagna region [39]; from 2.0% to 6.0% in carcass swabs from the Emilia Romagna region [48]; 3.9% in muscles from the Lazio region [49]; and 4.55% in meat cuts from the Tuscany region [50]) or in other countries (1.4% in carcass swabs and 1.9% in meat samples from Serbia [51]; 1.2% in carcass swabs from Spain [52]; and 3.1% in carcass samples from Serbia [53]. Higher prevalence values have been reported for Salmonella spp.…”