Turtles as a Possible Reservoir of Nontyphoidal Salmonella in Shanghai, China.
Terrapins and turtles are known to transmit Salmonella to humans. However, little was known about the occurrence of this pathogen in soft-shelled terrapin that is a popular delicacy in Chinese and other East Asian cuisines. We isolated and characterized 82 (24.4%) isolates of Salmonella from 336 fecal samples of soft-shelled terrapins (51 of 172; 29.7%) and pet turtles (31 of 164; 18.9%) in Shanghai. Salmonella Thompson was the most common serotype (17.1%) among others. Many isolates (84.1%) were resistant to multiple antimicrobials (≥3). Molecular analysis of Salmonella Thompson and Salmonella Typhimurium using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis unveiled a close genetic relationship between several human and terrapin isolates. Our results highlight the risk associated with the handling and consumption of turtles and their role in the spread of Salmonella in the human salmonellosis.
1 Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control of Guangdong Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University , Guangzhou, China .
Jianmin
J
Zhang
2 School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai, China .
Dai
D
Kuang
3 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Maryland , College Park, Maryland.
Fei
F
Wang
2 School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai, China .|3 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Maryland , College Park, Maryland.
Jianghong
J
Meng
4 Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention , Shanghai, China .
Huiming
H
Jin
2 School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai, China .
Xiaowei
X
Yang
1 Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control of Guangdong Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University , Guangzhou, China .
Ming
M
Liao
5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, Georgia .
John D
JD
Klena
5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, Georgia .
Shuyu
S
Wu
6 Department of Emergency, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University Guangzhou , China .
Yongbiao
Y
Zhang
4 Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention , Shanghai, China .
Xuebin
X
Xu
D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010802:Phylogeny; D012475:Salmonella / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012478:Salmonella Food Poisoning / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012703:Serotyping; D014426:Turtles / Q000382:microbiology*