title: Outbreak of Salmonella Dublin-associated abortion in Danish fur farms.
abstract: Outbreaks of Salmonella Dublin infections were recorded in 25 Danish mink and fox farms. All farms suffered extensive disease problems; clinical and pathological observations included abortion, stillbirths, necrotizing endometritis, and increased mortality. By genotyping with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and amplified fragment length polymorphism, all isolates of S. Dublin had indistinguishable patterns. The outbreaks took place during April and May, around the time of whelping. During this period, mink are particularly susceptible to Salmonella infections. All affected farms were served by the same feed factory and it was concluded that a batch of contaminated feed was responsible for the outbreaks, although repeated culture of feed samples collected during the same period were negative. No other likely source could be identified. The results emphasize the importance of strict hygiene measures at feed factories and the proper use of ingredients of known Salmonella status, in particular during the whelping season. Infected mink farms did not have a higher risk of outbreak of salmonellosis in the year following the outbreak.
authors.affiliation: Danish Institute for Food and Veterinary Research, 2 Hangøvej, DK-8200 Aarhus N, Denmark.
authors.forename: Hans Henrik
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Dietz
authors.forename: Mariann
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chriél
authors.forename: Thomas Holmen
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: Jens Christian
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Jørgensen
authors.forename: Mia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torpdahl
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pedersen
mesh_terms: D000034:Abortion, Veterinary / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D000821:Animal Feed / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006920:Hygiene; D008297:Male; D008907:Mink; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012475:Salmonella / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012478:Salmonella Food Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012621:Seasons