A case study on Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium at a dairy farm associated with massive sparrow death.
BACKGROUND
Salmonella enterica Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is the most common cause of bovine salmonellosis in Japan and where it is also cause of salmonellosis in wild birds. In 2008, a postpartum cow at a dairy farm developed diarrhea caused by S. Typhimurium. The herd was extensively surveilled for Salmonella sp. and we characterized bacterial isolates from this and other cows to determine the source of infection.


RESULTS
Eight isolates of S. Typhimurium from cattle were identified as phage type DT40 and showed a 100 % similarity by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and the same or similar multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis profiles as those of S. Typhimurium isolated from dead sparrows (Passer montanus) collected at Asahikawa in 2006. S. Typhimurium DT40 was considered to be a major cause of high sparrow mortality in Hokkaido in 2005-2006 and 2008-2009, suggesting that DT40 maintained in sparrows was transmitted to cattle.


CONCLUSIONS
S. Typhimurium DT40 may be transmitted from sparrows to dairy cattle.
Hokkaido Research Station, National Institute of Animal Health, 4 Hitsujigaoka, Toyohira, Sapporo, 062-0045, Hokkado, Japan.
Yukino
Y
Tamamura
Bacterial and Parasitic Diseases Research Division, National Institute of Animal Health, Tsukuba, 305-0856, Ibaraki, Japan.|United Graduate School of Veterinary Sciences, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu-Shi, 501-1193, Gifu, Japan.
Ikuo
I
Uchida
Hokkaido Research Station, National Institute of Animal Health, 4 Hitsujigaoka, Toyohira, Sapporo, 062-0045, Hokkado, Japan.
Kiyoshi
K
Tanaka
Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Science, Rakuno Gakuen University, 582 Bunkyodai-midorimachi, Ebetsu, 069-8501, Hokkaido, Japan.|Sorachi Livestock Hygiene Service Centre, 12-37 Okayama, Iwamizawa, 079-01, Hokkaido, Japan.
Yoshinori
Y
Nakano
Department of Bacteriology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, 162-8640, Tokyo, Japan.
Hidemasa
H
Izumiya
Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Science, Rakuno Gakuen University, 582 Bunkyodai-midorimachi, Ebetsu, 069-8501, Hokkaido, Japan.
Tatsufumi
T
Takahashi
Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Science, Rakuno Gakuen University, 582 Bunkyodai-midorimachi, Ebetsu, 069-8501, Hokkaido, Japan. nkikuchi@rakuno.ac.jp.
Naoya
N
Kikuchi
D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality*; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D003612:Dairying; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D046370:Sparrows
Cattle; Japan; Multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis; Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis; Salmonella Typhimurium; Sparrow