Salmonella associated with captive and wild lizards in Malaysia

Reptiles are well known reservoirs of Salmonella and are capable of carrying the pathogen without showing any clinical signs. Previous studies have found a high prevalence of Salmonella and predominantly Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica (I) in lizards. This subspecies is also commonly associa...

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Main Authors: Cheng, B., Wong, S., Dykes, Gary
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2014
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/30138
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author Cheng, B.
Wong, S.
Dykes, Gary
author_facet Cheng, B.
Wong, S.
Dykes, Gary
author_sort Cheng, B.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Reptiles are well known reservoirs of Salmonella and are capable of carrying the pathogen without showing any clinical signs. Previous studies have found a high prevalence of Salmonella and predominantly Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica (I) in lizards. This subspecies is also commonly associated with mammals and is responsible for most cases of human salmonellosis. Our study investigated the prevalence of Salmonella species and subspecies in captive and wild reptiles in and around Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 60 lizard (12 captive and 48 wild) faecal samples were tested for the presence Salmonella. Approximately 36% of the lizards sampled carried Salmonella in their faeces with a significantly (p<0.05) higher prevalence in captive (83.3%) as compared to wild lizards (25%). Four Salmonella enterica subspecies were isolated, namely enterica (I), arizonae (IIIa), diarizonae (IIIb) and indica (VI). The higher prevalence of Salmonella in captive lizards highlights a risk of acquiring reptile-associated salmonellosis from handling lizards while the level of Salmonella in wild lizards suggests some risk associated with their presence in and around dwellings.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-301382017-01-30T13:17:34Z Salmonella associated with captive and wild lizards in Malaysia Cheng, B. Wong, S. Dykes, Gary Reptiles are well known reservoirs of Salmonella and are capable of carrying the pathogen without showing any clinical signs. Previous studies have found a high prevalence of Salmonella and predominantly Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica (I) in lizards. This subspecies is also commonly associated with mammals and is responsible for most cases of human salmonellosis. Our study investigated the prevalence of Salmonella species and subspecies in captive and wild reptiles in and around Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 60 lizard (12 captive and 48 wild) faecal samples were tested for the presence Salmonella. Approximately 36% of the lizards sampled carried Salmonella in their faeces with a significantly (p<0.05) higher prevalence in captive (83.3%) as compared to wild lizards (25%). Four Salmonella enterica subspecies were isolated, namely enterica (I), arizonae (IIIa), diarizonae (IIIb) and indica (VI). The higher prevalence of Salmonella in captive lizards highlights a risk of acquiring reptile-associated salmonellosis from handling lizards while the level of Salmonella in wild lizards suggests some risk associated with their presence in and around dwellings. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/30138 restricted
spellingShingle Cheng, B.
Wong, S.
Dykes, Gary
Salmonella associated with captive and wild lizards in Malaysia
title Salmonella associated with captive and wild lizards in Malaysia
title_full Salmonella associated with captive and wild lizards in Malaysia
title_fullStr Salmonella associated with captive and wild lizards in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Salmonella associated with captive and wild lizards in Malaysia
title_short Salmonella associated with captive and wild lizards in Malaysia
title_sort salmonella associated with captive and wild lizards in malaysia
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/30138