Wild animals have an ecological function and can serve as sentinels to identify infectious agents and as indicators of environmental health. Among the zoonotic pathogens, Salmonella spp. deserve special attention due to their high worldwide prevalence and their ubiquity of hosts. With the aim of investigating the presence of Salmonella spp. in wild birds from the Atlantic Forest in southern Bahia, Brazil, we collected 114 fecal samples of wild birds (14 families) between 2016 and 2017. Fecal samples were collected by means of cloacal swab and subjected to microbiological culture to isolate and serotype Salmonella spp. specifically. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined using the disk diffusion test protocol. Only one bird, Ceratopipra rubrocapilla, tested positive for Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Agona, which is the first record for this bird species. This isolate exhibited intermediate sensitivity to amikacin and gentamicin and sensitivity to the other 13 antibiotics tested. Results may indicate environmental preservation since the studied areas had minimal human activity and good sanitary quality. Despite the low prevalence, it is necessary to monitor wildlife and establish disease control and surveillance systems, especially for zoonotic diseases.
Wildlife can be a reservoir of infectious agents for humans and domestic and wild animals. In this regard, widespread Salmonella spp. in wildlife is a problem for public and environmental health. Currently, more than 2500 serovars of Salmonella spp. are widely distributed among humans, animals, and the environment. This ubiquity favors the bidirectional transmission of the pathogen between wild and domestic animals. Moreover, when farmed animals acquire Salmonella spp. from wildlife, the likelihood of humans becoming infected increases. The risk is higher in forest environments impacted by human activities or when animals are removed from their natural habitat. Consequently, human contact with wild animals in captivity increases the risk of salmonellosis outbreaks. These animals are often carriers of Salmonella spp. strains multiresistant to antibiotics, which makes it difficult to treat and control the disease. Therefore, prevention and control measures of this pathogen must include both the pathogen-host relationship and the environment, with a surveillance system for emerging and re-emerging diseases from wildlife.
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