Molecular epidemiology of Salmonella spp. isolates from gulls, fish-meal factories, feed factories, animals and humans in Norway based on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

The molecular epidemiology of 98 isolates of Salmonella serovar Agona (n = 27), S. Montevideo (n = 42) and S. Senftenberg (n = 29) from wild-living gulls, fish-meal factories, feed factories, humans and domestic animals was investigated using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and computerized numerical analysis. Two of the S. Agona profiles were identified both in gulls and in two of the factories. In addition, one of these profiles was detected in two infected poultry farms. Two of the S. Montevideo profiles were also identified both in gulls and in two of the factories, and one of these profiles was observed in a human isolate. Four factories shared an identical S. Senftenberg profile. The S. Senftenberg profile found in gulls was not identified in any other source investigated. The presence of isolates with identical PFGE profiles indicates potential epidemiological links between different factories, as well as between gulls and factories.

Prevalence of Salmonella typhimurium infection in Norwegian hedgehog populations associated with two human disease outbreaks.

Faecal carriage of salmonella was investigated in 320 hedgehogs from Moss municipality in south-eastern Norway, Askøy, Bergen and Os municipalities in central-western Norway, and five municipalities in south-western and central Norway. The sampling in Moss was carried out 1 year after a human outbreak of salmonellosis, whereas the sampling in Askøy, Bergen and Os was carried out during a human outbreak. Both outbreaks were caused by Salmonella Typhimurium 4,5,12:i:1,2. No salmonella were detected in the hedgehogs from south-western (0/115) and central (0/24) Norway. Thirty-nine percent (39/99) of the animals sampled on Jeløy, and 41% (34/82) of those from Askøy, Bergen and Os, carried S. Typhimurium 4,5,12:i:1,2. The PFGE profile of isolates from hedgehogs and human beings were identical within each of the two outbreak areas. A significantly higher carrier rate of S. Typhimurium occurred among hedgehogs sampled at feeding places, compared to those caught elsewhere. The salmonella-infected hedgehog populations most likely constituted the primary source of infection during both of the human disease outbreaks, and the Norwegian hedgehog is suggested as a reservoir host of S. Typhimurium 4,5,12:i:1,2.

Experimental Narthecium ossifragum nephrotoxicity in cervids from Norway.

One moose (Alces alces), two red deer (Cervus elaphus), two reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and two fallow deer (Dama dama) were dosed intraruminally with an aqueous extract made from 30 g of bog asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum) (wet weight) per kg live weight. The moose and one of the two reindeer were mildly depressed and had reduced appetite 3 to 7 days and 1 to 4 days after dosing, respectively. The serum creatinine and urea concentrations increased markedly in the moose and red deer, and moderately in the reindeer. No increase in serum creatinine and urea was observed in the fallow deer. Histopathological examination of the kidneys of the animals, killed 8 to 10 days after dosing, revealed tubular epithelial cell degeneration, necrosis, and regeneration in the moose, red deer and reindeer. The renal lesions were severe in the moose, moderate in the red deer and mild in the reindeer. No histopathological lesions were seen in the kidneys of the fallow deer.