Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Salmonella bacteria found in healthy dogs in the UK Midlands
By Lowden, Preena et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2015·Aston University, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Investigating the prevalence of Salmonella in dogs within the Midlands region of the United Kingdom.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that only one out of 436 healthy dogs in the Midlands region of the UK tested positive for Salmonella in their feces. This means that while the risk is low, there is still a chance that dogs can carry this bacteria without showing any symptoms. The positive sample came from a dog living in a household, indicating that even healthy pets can shed Salmonella. Pet owners should be aware of this potential risk, especially when handling their dog's waste.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: The intimate relationship between dogs and their owners has the potential to increase the risk of human exposure to bacterial pathogens. Over the past 40 years, there have been several reports on transmission of salmonellae from dogs to humans. This study therefore aimed to determine the prevalence of Salmonella in the faeces of dogs from the Midlands region of the United Kingdom to assess exposure risk and potential for zoonotic transmission. RESULTS: A total of 436 apparently healthy dogs without diarrhoea from households (n = 126), rescue centres (n = 96), boarding kennels (n = 43), retired greyhound kennels (n = 39) and a pet nutrition facility (n = 132) were investigated for Salmonella shedding. Faecal samples were processed by an enrichment culture based method. The faeces from one dog (0.23 %; 95 % confidence limit 0.006 %, 1.27 %) was positive for Salmonella. The species was S. enterica subspecies arizonae. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the prevalence of Salmonella from faeces from apparently healthy dogs from a variety of housing conditions is low; however, Salmonella shedding was still identified.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26381479/