Presence of enteric bacterial pathogens in meat samples of wild boar hunted in Campania region, southern Italy

Abstract

Wild boars can be infected with several foodborne pathogens which may be transmitted to humans through the consumption of their meat, but currently, data of their prevalence are still limited. The present study aimed to evaluate the presence of enteric pathogens in wild boar meat samples killed in the Campania region. Twentyeight wild boar meat samples were analyzed for the detection of Salmonella spp, Y. enterocolitica, Campylobacter spp., and Shiga- Toxigenic E. coli. Salmonella spp. was detected and isolated in ten samples and after serotyping S. Veneziana, S. Kasenyi, S. Coeln, S. Manhattan, S. Thompson, and S. Stanleyville were identified. Twenty-one meat samples were found to be contaminated with Y. enterocolitica; in 6 samples the ystA and ystB genes were detected simultaneously, while in 15 only the ystB gene, which characterizes the bacteria belonging to the biotype 1A, was present. Shiga-Toxin producing E. coli was detected in 12 while Campylobacter spp was never detected. In conclusion, due to the high occurrence of pathogenic bacteria detected, the present research shows that wild boars are important reservoirs for foodborne zoonoses which may be transmitted to livestock and humans. This confirms the importance of controls throughout the wild boar supply chain. In the Campania region, checks are guaranteed by the Veterinarians who work within the “management and control plan for wild boar in the Campania region” which has the twofold objective of containing the increasingly invasive presence of this animal and guaranteeing greater safety, traceability, and transparency in the consumption of meat.

Occurrence and distribution of Salmonella serovars in carcasses and foods in southern Italy: Eleven-year monitoring (2011–2021)

“…Eight out of eleven strains belonging to the non- enterica subspecies were found in wild boar sources. In contrast to the studies of Peruzy et al (2019) , La Tela et al (2021) , and Peruzy et al (2022) in which all Salmonella strains isolated from wild boar killed in the Campania region belonged to the subspecies enterica , in the present study, the prevalence of non- enterica subspecies was slightly higher (57.14%).…”

Prevalence of Different Salmonella enterica Subspecies and Serotypes in Wild Carnivores in Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy

“…Despite being already reported from both foxes and badgers, this is the highest prevalence retrieved from literature [ 12 , 13 , 34 ]. As S. veneziana was recently isolated from wild boars in Italy [ 39 , 40 ], the high prevalence described in the present work might be related to sharing of the same environment and to scavenging of wild boars’ carcasses. The second most frequently isolated serotype was S. typhimurium with 10 strains.…”

“…As mentioned before, S. infantis has a well-known zoonotic potential, as it is listed as the fourth most commonly reported serovar among all confirmed salmonellosis cases from humans [ 3 ]. On the other hand, S. stanleyville is rarely related to human outbreaks [ 55 ] and it was mostly retrieved from pigs and wild boars [ 39 , 40 ]. These results, despite the low number of samples, suggest that wolves, as an apex predator in any environment, may be exposed to many Salmonella serotypes.…”

Presence of Foodborne Bacteria in Wild Boar and Wild Boar Meat—A Literature Survey for the Period 2012–2022

“…of 11.1% [ 62 ] and 16.7% [ 63 ]. Peruzy et al [ 64 ] investigated the presence of Campylobacter in wild boar meat samples, but the pathogen was not detected.…”