Nontyphoidal Salmonellae in United Kingdom Badgers: Prevalence and Spatial Distribution

Abstract

Eighteen (72%) of 25 badger social groups were found to excrete Salmonella enterica serovar Ried, S. enterica serovar Binza, S. enterica serovar Agama, or S. enterica serovar Lomita. Each serovar was susceptible to a panel of antimicrobials. Based on results of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, the S. enterica serovar Agama and S. enterica serovar Binza isolates were very similar, but two clones each of S. enterica serovar Lomita and S. enterica serovar Ried were found. Badgers excreting S. enterica serovar Agama were spatially clustered.Salmonella enterica is an important pathogen of humans and other animals. Some serovars are highly species specific; for example, S. enterica serovar Typhi is solely a human pathogen, and S. enterica serovar Gallinarum is pathogenic only for poultry. In humans, salmonellae are an important cause of food poisoning (i.e., salmonellosis) (3,18,23). Those salmonellae that cause salmonellosis are conveniently designated nontyphoidal salmonellae (NTS) and include S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, S. enterica serovar Enteritidis, and S. enterica serovar Choleraesuis. Although diarrheal disease is the most common manifestation of NTS infection in humans (3, 23), the NTS can also cause invasive disease, especially in children (8) and human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals (7,20). NTS are also an important cause of diarrhea and septicemia in a number of domestic and companion animals (10,11,14,15,19,24,28,33). In many animal species, initial infection can be followed by prolonged periods of asymptomatic carriage (14,19).NTS have been detected in a wide range of wildlife species in the United Kingdom (29). The range of serovars reported is broad both between and within animal species. Previous reports of NTS in badgers (Meles meles) have been restricted to demonstrating the diversity of serovars detected. These included S. enterica serovar Agama and S. enterica serovar Dublin (29) as well as S. enterica serovar Agama, S. enterica serovar Bredeney, S. enterica serovar Enteritidis. S. enterica serovar Coeln, S. enterica serovar Dublin, S. enterica serovar Anatum, S. enterica serovar Bonn, S. enterica serovar Nagama, S. enterica serovar Durham, and S. enterica serovar Indiana (34).Badgers have a very wide geographical range and occupy an array of different habitats (21). They have a diverse omnivorous diet that includes both prey items and plant material. They also scavenge around waste disposal sites and dustbins (21, 34). Thus, they are exposed to many different potential sources of NTS. It is apparent that badgers could have an important role as a potential reservoir of NTS for other animal species, including cattle. This possibility has been described on only one occasion (9), when S. enterica serovar Agama was reported as the cause of abortion in a cow. The same S. enterica serovar Agama was subsequently isolated from badger feces next to the sett on the farm. Whether and to what extent the badgers might represent a source of infection for cattle is unclear. However, the most p...

Pathogen burden, co‐infection and major histocompatibility complex variability in the European badger (Meles meles)

“…In addition, social interactions that involve contact between individuals that could spread pathogens are common, such as alloparental care (Dugdale et al 2010), allogrooming (Stewart & Macdonald 2003;Johnson et al 2004) and allomarking (which facilitates the exchange of subcaudal pouch bacteria between group members; Buesching et al 2003;Sin et al 2012a). European badgers are susceptible to a wide taxonomic range of pathogens: for example, viral [mustelid herpesvirus (MHV); King et al 2004], bacterial (Salmonella; Wilson et al 2003), protozoan [Trypanosoma pestanai ; Eimeria melis and Isospora melis (Newman et al 2001)], helminth (Torres et al 2001) and invertebrate ectoparasites [Paraceras melis, Trichodectes melis and Ixodes hexagonus (Cox et al 1999;San 2007)]. Some pathogens, such as E. melis in badgers, cause host morbidity and high juvenile mortality (Newman et al 2001).…”

Antimicrobial resistance patterns and emerging fluoroquinolone resistant Salmonella isolates from poultry and asymptomatic poultry workers

“…Tel: +2348029088676 or 07038127529. poultry faeces), fresh fruits and dry cereal (Hohmann, 2001;Ekdahi et al, 2005). Non-typhoidal Salmonella part of the world (Wilson et al, 2003). It is widely spread in Europe and North America (Wright et al, 2005;Takkimen et al, 2002;Ling et al, 2002).…”

How do pig farms maintain low Salmonella prevalence: a case-control study

“…The most detected serovar on Platinum farms was S. Reading (49 isolates) which was found in pooled samples from two farms. Only one serovar was detected from individual samples from the Platinum farms; a single S. Agama isolate, which is likely to represent transient contamination of feed by badgers [32].…”