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Abstract
AIM: To examine the infective dose, incubation period and disease progression of an isolate of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium definitive type 160 (DT160) originating from a naturally-infected house sparrow (Passer domesticus) during an outbreak of the disease in New Zealand.
METHODS: Thirty-six house sparrows captured from the wild and free of Salmonella spp were divided into six groups of six birds, housed individually, and inoculated orally with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or 101, 102, 103, 105, 2 × 108 colony forming units (cfu) of the outbreak strain of S. Typhimurium DT160. The birds were observed for 10 days for clinical signs and/or mortality, and faecal samples were collected to determine excretion of S. Typhimurium. The birds were eutha- nised 11 days post-inoculation (p.i.) and a wide range of tissue samples were collected for histopathological examination, and culture and typing of Salmonella spp. Macro-restriction profiling by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using XbaI was performed for the epidemiological typing of S. Typhimurium DT160 isolates.
RESULTS: Mortality in house sparrows inoculated with S. Typhimurium DT160 was dose-dependent, and 2/6 birds inoculated with 105 cfu and all six birds inoculated with 2 × 108 cfu died during the study. Infected sparrows displayed few clinical signs, apart from diarrhoea and/or polyuria, fluffed plumage, and sitting on the floor of the cage. Faecal excretion of DT160 occurred briefly in two birds inoculated with 102 cfu and four birds inoculated with 103 cfu, on most days in five birds inoculated with 105 cfu, and continuously in six birds inoculated with 2 × 108 cfu. DT160 was isolated from the livers of three birds which received 103 cfu, five birds dosed with 105 cfu, and all six birds given 2 × 108 cfu. Following necropsy, histopathological lesions similar to those seen in the natural disease were observed in the liver or spleen of three birds which received 103 cfu, and all birds dosed with ≥105 cfu.
CONCLUSION: The results indicate that an isolate of S. Typhimurium DT60 originating from house sparrows in New Zealand is pathogenic to these birds and that the response is dose- dependent. The persistence and excretion of the pathogen may last for at least 10 days. This confirms that sparrows infected with DT160 could be a source of infection to humans and other in-contact animals.
Acknowledgements
We thank Doug Armstrong and Brett Gartrell for the loan of and assistance with the use of mist nets, respectively. Vicki Scott and Deb Anthony assisted with care of the birds, and Megan Ley-land performed the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Pat Davey prepared the histological sections, and Carolyn Nicol, Dave Duncan, Karen Cullen and Jenny Bennett, of the Institute of Environmental Science and Research enteric reference laboratory, Porirua, New Zealand, assisted with the serotyping and phage typing of isolates. Rex Stanton, of Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, assisted with the statistical analysis. This work was supported by funding from the McGeorge Research Fund.
Notes
1 CM Nicol, Institute of Environmental Science and Research, Porirua, New Zealand
