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.
Section of Wildlife Diseases, National Veterinary Institute Oslo, Norway.
K
K
Handeland
T
T
Refsum
B S
BS
Johansen
G
G
Holstad
G
G
Knutsen
I
I
Solberg
J
J
Schulze
G
G
Kapperud
D000818:Animals; D002353:Carrier State; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006364:Hedgehogs / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012480:Salmonella Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D015047:Zoonoses