Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Hessarek in wild birds

Abstract

Objective: Sporadic Salmonella outbreaks were also documented in wild birds, although wild birds are the well-known carriers of salmonellosis. In this study, we investigated the causative agents of two death events of sparrows and black headed gulls occurring in the Çorum City Landfill and Bartın Port, respectively, between mid-autumn and winter of 2017–2018. Methods: Septicemic salmonellosis was suspected based on necropsy findings of dead sparrows and blackheaded gulls. In this context, isolation and identification was done according to conventional cultural method for the tissue samples (liver, spleen, heart) and ISO 6579:2002/Amd 1:2007 (Annex D) for small intestine samples, and serotyping were carried out according to Kauffman White Scheme. Results: One of the two mortality events was seen in the Bartın Port. S. Typhimurium was found to be the causative agent of black-headed gulls’ (Larus ridibundus) death. The other mortality event observed in sparrows (Passer domesticus) was determined in the Çorum City Landfill. S. Hessarek was determined to be responsible of the septisemic bacteremia of sparrows.Conclusion: In both cases, where the death cases observed were the places which had a close interaction with urban civilization. According to informations, while black-headed gulls were adapted to feeding on urban waste and showed tendency to scavenge for food at rubbish tips and sewage outfalls in the Bartın Port, sparrows fed from the Çorum City Landfill to obtain food during migration season. Circulation of S. Hessarek in Çorum where commercial layer flocks existed and S. Typhimurium, a zoonotic pathogen in the Bartın Port were thought not to be ignored for poultry and human health. The epidemiology of both agents should be examined in wild birds.