Typhaea stercorea (Coleoptera: Mycetophagidae), a carrier of Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis in a Danish broiler house.
In December 1994, Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis (S. Infantis) was accidentally introduced into a Danish broiler house by stocking an S. Infantis-infected broiler flock of 39,900 day-old chicks. At the time of the study, the infection had persisted through 6 broiler cycles. Typhaea stercorea (L.), the hairy fungus beetle, was found in large quantities inside and around the broiler house. Various attempts to control the beetle had failed; T. stercorea had been uncontrollable on the farm since Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer), the lesser mealworm, was eradicated approximately 10 yr earlier. We investigated the ability of T. stercorea to act as a carrier of S. Infantis in the broiler house between 2 broiler cycles. We examined the empty, cleaned, and disinfected broiler house for S. Infantis 3 d before stocking the 7th broiler flock, and S. Infantis was isolated from the beetles only. Of 20 singly examined T. stercorea, 9 (45%) were S. Infantis positive. A rapid spread of the infection was seen in the 7th broiler flock; 100% of the culled chicks were S. Infantis positive 3 d after stocking. Under experimental conditions chicks were observed eating beetles, and when 5 d-old, specified pathogen-free chicks were fed with S. Infantis-positive T. stercorea collected from the broiler house, all 5 chicks became infected in 4 d. We conclude that T. stercorea may act as a potential carrier of S. Infantis between successive broiler cycles.
Hald
B
B
Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Danish Veterinary Laboratory, Aarhus, Denmark.
Olsen
A
A
Madsen
M
M
D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000382:microbiology; D003718:Denmark; D007300:Insect Control; D007303:Insect Vectors; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000635:transmission*; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000635:transmission*; D019779:Salmonella enterica / Q000302:isolation & purification