Epidemiological evidence that garden birds are a source of human salmonellosis in England and Wales

Lawson, Becki, de Pinna, Elizabeth, Horton, Robert A, Macgregor, Shaheed K, John, Shinto K, Chantrey, Julian, Duff, J Paul, Kirkwood, James K, Simpson, Victor R, Robinson, Robert A, Wain, John and Cunningham, Andrew A (2014) Epidemiological evidence that garden birds are a source of human salmonellosis in England and Wales. PLoS One, 9 (2). ISSN 1932-6203

Preview

PDF (Published_Version) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (4MB) | Preview

Abstract

The importance of wild bird populations as a reservoir of zoonotic pathogens is well established. Salmonellosis is a frequently diagnosed infectious cause of mortality of garden birds in England and Wales, predominantly caused by Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Typhimurium definitive phage types 40, 56(v) and 160. In Britain, these phage types are considered highly host-adapted with a high degree of genetic similarity amongst isolates, and in some instances are clonal. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis, however, demonstrated minimal variation amongst matched DT40 and DT56(v) isolates derived from passerine and human incidents of salmonellosis across England in 2000-2007. Also, during the period 1993-2012, similar temporal and spatial trends of infection with these S. Typhimurium phage types occurred in both the British garden bird and human populations; 1.6% of all S. Typhimurium (0.2% of all Salmonella) isolates from humans in England and Wales over the period 2000-2010. These findings support the hypothesis that garden birds act as the primary reservoir of infection for these zoonotic bacteria. Most passerine salmonellosis outbreaks identified occurred at and around feeding stations, which are likely sites of public exposure to sick or dead garden birds and their faeces. We, therefore, advise the public to practise routine personal hygiene measures when feeding wild birds and especially when handling sick wild birds.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2014 Crown Copyright. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the free Open Government Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/open-government-licence.htm
Uncontrolled Keywords:	sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/good_health_and_well_being
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Medical Microbiology (former - to 2018)
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	12 Nov 2014 16:48
Last Modified:	21 Oct 2022 00:15
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/50749
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pone.0088968

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item