title: Wild birds and silage as reservoirs of Listeria in the agricultural environment.
abstract: A method for the isolation of listeria which enabled a more rapid detection of the organism was used to examine samples of silage and bird faeces. Faecal samples indicated that seagulls feeding at sewage works had a higher rate of carriage than those elsewhere. Faecal samples from rooks generally suggested a low incidence of listeria except on one occasion when eight of twenty samples contained Listeria monocytogenes: this coincided with the nesting season and the peak period for listeriosis in sheep. The incidence of L. monocytogenes in clamp silages ranged from 2.5-5.9%, but in samples of big bale silages the incidence was 22.2% and, when mouldy samples were selected, 44%.
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000382:microbiology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008087:Listeria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008088:Listeriosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D012623:Seawater; D012722:Sewage; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D012820:Silage
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage