title: SalmonellaDetection and Aerobic Colony Count in Deep-Frozen Carcasses of House Sparrow (Passer Domesticus) and Starling (Sturnus Vulgaris) Intended for Human Consumption.
abstract: Wild birds are potential vehicles of zoonotic pathogen transmission to humans. The zoonotic concern increases for small wild birds like house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) which are hunted in developing countries and commercialised in Italy for human consumption. From June to October 2011, 330 house sparrows and 140 starlings were hunted and slaughtered. Deep-frozen carcasses were transported to Italy and stored for 6-8 months at -18°C. Aerobic colony count andSalmonelladetection in carcasses were assessed following standard microbiological methods (ISO 4833:2003 and ISO 6579:2004, respectively). Carcasses of house sparrows showed higher levels of aerobic bacteria in comparison to starling carcasses (5.7vs3.2 log10CFU/g). Moreover, 7 out of 11 lots of carcasses of house sparrows were positive forSalmonella. Among the 18 isolates ofSalmonella, 14 wereS. Typhimurium, 2 wereS. Enteritidis, and 2 were not distinguishable. All of them were susceptible to antibiotics. All tested carcasses of starling wereSalmonellanegative. Deep-freezing was not efficient as a decontamination technique on carcasses of house sparrows.
authors: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-Alimentari, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna , Italy.
authors: Frédérique
authors: F
authors: Pasquali
authors: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-Alimentari, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna , Italy.
authors: Alessandra
authors: A
authors: De Cesare
authors: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-Alimentari, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna , Italy.
authors: Simonetta
authors: S
authors: Braggio
authors: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-Alimentari, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna , Italy.
authors: Gerardo
authors: G
authors: Manfreda
keywords: Aerobic bacteria; Carcasses; Hause sparrow; Salmonella.; Starling