Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T13:45:58.545Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Salmonella colonization in commercial pet turtles (Pseudemys scripta elegans)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

S. M. Shane ,
R. Gilbert  and
K. S. Harrington
S. M. Shane
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA
R. Gilbert
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA
K. S. Harrington
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

An epidemiological survey was conducted on two commercial turtle farms in southern Louisiana to determine the reason for an apparent increase in the prevalence of Salmonella spp. in turtle hatchlings at the time of pre-export certification examination.

Pond water was consistently found to be contaminated (6/36 samples) with either Salmonella newport, S. arizonae, or S. poona. Environmental specimens obtained from eggs and turtle hatcheries (204 specimens) failed to yield Salmonella spp. A sample comprising 197 hatchlings, derived from a batch previously demonstrated to be contaminated, showed a salmonella prevalence of 12%, with S. arizonae and S. poona the only serotypes isolated. Four serotypes of Salmonella sp. isolated by a certifying laboratory in 1988, and 20 salmonella isolates obtained from hatchling turtles, were all resistant to gentamicin. The emergence of gentamicin resistance in Salmonella spp. isolated from turtles will reduce the effectiveness of preventive measures in use in Louisiana since 1984.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 105 , Issue 2 , October 1990 , pp. 307 - 316
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

References

REFERENCES

1.Williams, LP, Helsdon, HL. Pet turtles as a cause of human salmonellosis. J Am Med Assoc 1965; 192: 347–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Altman, R, Gorman, JC, Bernhardt, LL, Goldfield, M. Turtle-associated salmonellosis. II. The relationship of pet turtles to salmonellosis in children in New Jersey. Am J Epidemiol 1972; 95: 518–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3.Lamm, SH, Taylor, A Jr, Gangarosa, EJ, Anderson, HW, Young, W, Clark, MH, Bruce, AR. Turtle-associated salmonellosis I. An estimation of the magnitude of the problem in the United States, 1970–71. Am J Epidemiol 1972; 95: 511–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Cohen, ML, Potter, M, Pollard, R, Feldman, RA. Turtle-associated salmonellosis in the United States. Effect of public health action, 1970 to 1976. J Am Med Assoc 1980; 243: 1247–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Rigau-Perez, JG. Pet-turtle-associated salmonellosis – Puerto Rico. MMWR 1984; 33: 141–2.Google Scholar
6.Tauxe, RV, Rigau-Perez, JG, Wells, JG, Blake, PA. Turtle-associated salmonellosis in Puerto Rico – hazards of the global turtle trade. J Am Med Assoc 1985; 254: 237–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.Gangarosa, EJ. Boundaries of conscience. J Am Med Assoc 1985; 254: 265–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8. Anonymous. Reptilian salmonellosis. Lancet 1984; ii: 130–1.Google Scholar
9.Kaufmann, AF, Morrison, ZL. An epidemiologic study of salmonellosis in turtles. Am J Epidemiol 1966; 84: 364–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Kaufmann, AF, Fox, MD, Morris, GK, Wood, BT, Feeley, JC, Frix, MK. Turtle-associated salmonellosis. III. The effects of environmental salmonellae in commercial turtle breeding ponds. Am J Epidemiol 1972; 95: 521–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Izadjoo, MA, Pantoja, COA, Siebeling, RJ. Acquisition of Salmonella flora by turtle hatchlings on commercial turtle farms. Can J Microbiol 1987; 33: 718–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Siebeling, RJ, Neal, PM, Granberry, WD. Evaluation of methods for the isolation of Salmonella and Arizona organisms from pet turtles treated with antimicrobial agents. Appl Microbiol 1975; 29: 240–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Michael-Marler, S, Brown, ML, Siebeling, RJ. Eradication of Arizona hinshawii from artificially infected turtle eggs. Appl Environ Microbiol 1983; 45: 748–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14.Siebeling, RJ, Caruso, D, Neuman, S. Eradication of Salmonella and Arizona species from turtle hatchlings produced from eggs treated on commercial turtle farms. Appl Environ Microbiol 1984; 47: 658–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15.Andrews, WH, Poelma, PL, Wilson, CR. Isolation and identification of Salmonella species. In: Bacteriological analytical manual of the division of microbiology, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, US Food and Drug Administration. 6th ed.Arlington, Virginia. Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 1984: 7.01–7c.10.Google Scholar
16.DuPonte, MW, Nakamura, RM, Chang, EML. Activation of latent Salmonella and Arizona organisms by dehydration in red-eared turtles, Pseudemys scripta-elegans. Am J Vet Res 1978; 39: 529–30.Google ScholarPubMed