ABSTRACT
Examination of rectal swabs from 187 dogs and 13 cats showed that Salmonella spp. was present in only one dog, a 4-month old mongrel puppy, weighing 3.5 kg. It was identified as S. dublin, a species specific serovar of cattle. The animal exhibited no signs of disease during clinical examination. Of the total number of examined animals this positive dog represents only 0.5%. Within the group of patients included in our monitoring in none of those with gastrointestinal problems it was possible to isolate Salmonella spp. This indicates that the risk of transmission of salmonellosis from dogs and cats in the region of Kosice seems to be rather low. On the basis of literature and our own observations we identified the potential sources and the possible ways of the transfer of this disease. The most common appears to be the oral infection by infected feed of various types, particularly by direct contamination of feed with either animal or human contaminants. In dogs and cats salmonellosis occurs most frequently in a latent form. The clinical findings vary with regard to the number of pathogens, immune status of the host, occurrence of health complications and the form of associated disease units. There are suitable isolation and diagnostic methods for diagnostics of salmonellosis. Due to the need for continuous protection of health of humans and animals, screening of occurrence of zoonotic pathogens appears topical. (Tab. 3, Fig. 1, Ref. 35.).
Subject(s)
Cats/microbiology , Dogs/microbiology , Salmonella Infections/transmission , Animals , Humans , Rectum/microbiology , Risk Factors , Salmonella/isolation & purification , ZoonosesABSTRACT
Survival of Salmonella typhimurium pathogens was followed in the slurry solid fraction from a pig farm waste water treatment plant. The tested S. typhimurium pathogens have survived for 117 days. The solid fraction was kept in the laboratory at 20-23 degrees C. Indicatory microorganisms at the beginning of the experiment numbered 10(8)-10(9) CFU in 1 ml sample. This number decreased by 4-5 series throughout the experiment, except for faecal coliform bacteria, which were not detected after 43 days of cultivation. Enterobacteria showed a decreasing tendency until day 83, however, on the final sampling (day 117) their count was almost double. Of physico-chemical parameters, pH showed the most striking variations. Its initial value of 6.9 increased to 8.1 at day 30, then decreased to 7.2 at day 43, and increased to 7.7 at the end of the experiment. Ammoniacal nitrogen in solid fraction was almost twice as high as the initial level. Other physico-chemical parameters were not changed significantly throughout the experiment. On the results of this experiment, decimal reduction times T90 were determined for indicatory microorganisms during the storage of solid fraction under constant conditions: psychrophilic bacteria 31.25; mesophilic bacteria 38.12; coliform bacteria 27.49; faecal streptococci 24.57 and enterobacteria 30.46 days. These data suggest a relatively long time of survival for indicatory microorganisms in the solid fraction from agricultural waste water treatment plants.
