Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-pkt8n Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-08T11:22:16.706Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Seagulls (Larus spp.) as vectors of salmonellae: an investigation into the range of serotypes and numbers of salmonellae in gull faeces

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2010

D. R. Fenlon
D. R. Fenlon
Affiliation:
Bacteriology Division, North of Scotland College of Agriculture, 581 King Street, Aberdeen AB9 1UD
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.

Of 1242 samples of seagulls faeces examined, 12·9% were found to contain salmonellae. The number of positive samples was significantly higher (17–21%) near sewage outfalls. Twenty-seven serotypes were isolated, including a new serotype named Salmonella grampian. The range and frequency of serotypes carried by gulls was similar to those in the human population, suggesting sewage as a possible source of gull infection.

The number of salmonellae found in positive samples was low (0·18−191 g−1 faeces). This was similar to the numbers found in sewage, 10−80 l−1, suggesting gulls may only carry infected material without infecting themselves. Antibiotic resistance in the isolates was low, only 21 showing resistance to the antibiotics tested, although most of these were determined by resistance transfer plasmids.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Hygiene , Volume 86 , Issue 2 , April 1981 , pp. 195 - 202
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

References

REFERENCES

Barnes, E. M. (1979). The intestinal microflora of poultry and game birds during life and after storage. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 46, 407–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Browne, D. D., Gross, J. G. & Smith, A. F. G. (1977). Experimental infection of sheep with Salmonella infantis. British Veterinary Journal 133, 435–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brownlie, L. E. & Grau, F. H. (1907). Effect of food intake on growth and survival of salmonellas and Escherichia coli in the bovine rumen. Journal of General Microbiology 46, 125–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Communicable Diseases Scotland. Salmonellosis summary of isolations 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978. CDS Unit, Ruchill Hospital, Glasgow.Google Scholar
Fennell, H., James, D. B. & Morris, J. (1974). Pollution of a storage reservoir by roosting gulls. Water Treatment and Examination 23, 1, 5–20.Google Scholar
Hickling, R. A. O. (1967). The inland wintering of gulls in England, 1963. Bird Study 14, 104–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, W. S., Maclachlan, G. K. & Hopkins, G. F. (1979). The possible involvement of seagulls (Larus sp.) in the transmission of salmonella in dairy cattle. Veterinary Record 105, 526–7.Google ScholarPubMed
Linton, A. H., Howe, K. & Osborne, A. D. (1975). The effect of feeding tetracycline, nitrovin and quindoxin on the drug resistance of coli-aerogenee bacteria from calves and pigs. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 38, 255–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Macdonald, J. W. & Cornelius, L. W. (1969). Salmonellosis in wild birds. British Birds 62, 28–30.Google Scholar
McCoy, J. (1979). The risks to public health from pathogens in sewage sludges. In Proceedings of the WRC Conference on Utilization of Sewage Sludge on Land, pp. 191–7. Stevenage: WRC.Google Scholar
Plant, C. W. (1977). Salmonellosis in wild birds feeding at sewage treatment works. Journal of Hygiene (Cambridge) 81, 43–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, M. G. (1977). Transfer of R factors from Escherichia coli to salmonellas in the rumen of sheep. Journal of Medical Microbiology 10, 29–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sojka, W. J., Wray, C. & Hudson, E. B. (1977). A survey of drug resistance in salmonellae isolated from animals in England and Wales during 1973 and 1974. British Veterinary Journal 133, 292–311.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spence, J. B. & Westwood, A. (1978). Salmonella agona infection in sheep. Veterinary Record 102, 332–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water, 12th ed. (1967). New York: American Public Health Association Inc.Google Scholar
Taylor, R. J. & Burrows, M. R. (1971). The survival of Escherichia coli and Salmonella dublin in slurry on pasture and the infectivity of S. dublin for grazing calves. British Veterinary Journal 127, 536–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vernon, J. D. R. (1970). Feeding habits and food of the black-headed and common gulls. 1. Feeding habits. Bird Study 17, 287–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vernon, J. D. R. (1972). Feeding habits and food of the black-headed and common gulls. 2. Food. Bird Study 19, 173–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, B. M., Richards, D. W. & Lewis, J. (1976). Salmonella infection in the herring gull. Veterinary Record 98, 51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, B. M., Richard, D. W., Stephens, D. P. & Griffith, T. (1977). The transmission of Salmonella livingstone to cattle by the herring gull (Larus argentatus). Veterinary Record 100, 45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilson, J. E. & Macdonald, J. W. (1967). Salmonella infection in wild birds. British Veterinary Journal 123, 212–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed