Domestic reptiles as source of zoonotic bacteria: A mini review

ABSTRACT

Captive reptiles, always more often present in domestic environment as pets, may harbor and excrete a large variety of zoonotic pathogens. Among them, Salmonella is the most well-known agent, whereas there are very scant data about infections by mycobacteria, chlamydiae and leptospirae in cold-blooded animals. However, the investigations that found antibody reactions and/or the bacteria in samples collected from free-ranging and captive reptiles show that herpetofauna may be involved in the epidemiology of these infections. The present review reports the updated knowledge about salmonellosis, mycobacteriosis, chlamydiosis and leptospirosis in reptiles and underlines the risk of infection to which people, mainly children, are exposed.