Background: The third largest poultry flock in Northeast Brazil is located in Ceará State. Some pathogens are commonly disseminated in broiler chicken flocks, such as the bacteria from the Enterobacteriaceae family. Among these, some strains of Escherichia coli are frequently associated with different pathological manifestations in domestic animals, while bacteria from the genus Salmonella are considered the most frequent enteric pathogens reported causing foodborne infections in humans. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella sp. and Escherichia coli strains isolated from broiler chickens in the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza city, Brazil.Materials, Methods & Results: Samples were collected from July-2014 to March-2015 in ten broiler chicken farms located in the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza city, Brazil, with birds in pre-slaughter age. From each farm, 100 individual cloacal swabs were randomly collected from broilers independent of clinical status. Distinct methodologies were used in order to provide optimal isolation conditions for both the bacterial species. For Escherichia coli, the methodology consisted in enrichment with BHI broth, plating in EMB agar and biochemical identification, after which some isolates were maintained in nutrient agar for antimicrobial resistance evaluation. For the isolation of Salmonella sp., a standard method was used with pre-enrichment, selective enrichment, selective plating and biochemical identification steps. Antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) was performed with disk diffusion technique and the following antibiotics were tested: ampicillin, ceftiofur, ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, polymyxin B, gentamycin, cloranfenicol, tetracycline, azithromycin and fosfomycin. According to the methodology used, 95.9% of samples were positive for Escherichia coli and the most frequent resistance was to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Salmonella sp. was isolated from 0.2% of the samples, which were identified as the serotype Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica O:6,8. Both isolates presented the same antimicrobial resistance profile, which were resistant to six, out of ten tested antibiotics (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, azithromycin, chloramphenicol and ceftiofur).Discussion: The low prevalence of Salmonella observed in this study have also been reported by other studies performed in poultry farms in Ceará State, which suggests a good status for this pathogen in the local industry, however further efforts in order to eradicate this pathogen must be applied. The salmonella serotype detected in this study is rarely reported in the literature, especially from the poultry industry. In Brazil, the use of tetracyclines, quinolones and penicillins as feed additives or growth promoters is prohibited; however, a high resistance to drugs from these groups was detected. In addition, multidrug resistant E. coli isolates presented more elevated rates than other studies reported in the literature with antibiotics commonly used in the poultry industry and this may indicate an excessive use of these drugs in the production routine. These results should serve as a warning for surveillance programs to evaluate the incidence of these microorganisms as well as their antimicrobial resistance rates, which may be an important tool for control and prevention in meat poultry production.

ABSTRACT:The illegal wildlife trade is widespread among several countries, and Brazil is one of the most frequently involved due to its great territorial extension and large diversity of animal species. Birds are the main target, and among them the Psittaciformes order, which are removed indiscriminately from nature, is one of the most frequently traded due to their intelligence and great communicating skills. However, the conditions in which these birds are captured and maintained in captivity favor several diseases, among them the ones caused by some Enterobacteriaceae. In this family, the most frequently associated bacteria to illnesses and deaths in psittacine are Salmonella and Escherichia coli, which cause salmonellosis and colibacillosis, respectively. Therefore, this study presents a review of the literature concerning these enterobacteria in Psittaciformes, emphasizing the zoonotic potential of these bacteria.KEYWORDS: illegal wildlife trade; zoonosis; public health. RESUMO:O tráfico de animais selvagens consiste numa atividade ilegal exercida em diversas partes do mundo, e o Brasil, em função de sua grande extensão territorial e vasta biodiversidade, é um país bastante atingido por essa prática. O grupo de animais em perigo que mais se destaca é o das aves e, entre elas, as da ordem Psittaciformes. Essas são as mais traficadas por serem consideradas inteligentes e possuidoras de grandes habilidades de comunicação. Por isso, são retiradas indiscriminadamente da natureza. No entanto, as condições em que essas aves são capturadas e mantidas em cativeiro favorecem o aparecimento de diversas enfermidades, entre elas as causadas pelas enterobactérias. As bactérias que mais causam mortes e problemas em psitacídeos são as do gênero Salmonella e Escherichia coli, responsáveis pela salmonelose e pela colibacilose, respectivamente. Este trabalho apresenta uma revisão da literatura sobre essas enterobactérias em Psittaciformes, ressaltando o potencial zoonótico desses agentes. PALAVRAS-CHAVE:tráfico; zoonose; saúde pública. Isolamento de Salmonella

This study aimed to review the scientific literature for information about free-living pigeons (Columba livia) as potential reservoirs of Salmonella sp. and Escherichia coli. Rock doves are currently adapted to the urban environment and distributed all over the world. These birds carry microorganisms that are pathogenic for man and other animals, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Among these microorganisms, Salmonella is a pathogenic genus that cause severe economic losses and it is zoonotic, causing foodborne infections in humans. In addition, Escherichia coli is an worrisome species involved in the poultry industry. However, this micro-organism is also a risk to the public health, considering pathotypes that are known to cause diseases in man have been isolated from feral pigeons. The infections caused by these bacteria depend on virulence factors that provide the necessary tools to develop the disease. These factors are encoded by genes that may be found in pathogenicity islands inside the bacterial genome. In addition, pigeons may harbor antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, which may pass this characteristic to other strains, and present a risk to the public health as well. In conclusion, pigeons are reservoirs of strains of Salmonella sp. and Escherichia coli that may present high levels of resistance to antibiotics.

This study aimed to review aspects of Salmonella spp. in free-living birds and their potential as disseminators for domestic animals, man, and the environment. Isolation of Salmonella spp. have been reported in several species of wild birds from Passeridae and Fringillidae, among other avian families, captured in countries of North America and Europe, where Salmonella ser. Typhimurium is the most frequently reported serotype. The presence of pathogens, including Salmonella, may be influenced by several factors, such as diet, environment, exposure to antibiotics, infection by pathogenic organisms and migration patterns. Researches with wild birds that live in urbanized environment are important, considering that birds may participate in the transmission of zoonotic pathogens, which are more prevalent in cities due to the human activity. Based on the information collected, this article concludes that wild birds are still important disseminators of pathogens in several geographic regions and may affect man, domestic animals, and other birds.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi isolar e identificar as enterobactérias presentes em patos domésticos (Cairina moschata) de propriedades localizadas em quatro municípios no estado do Ceará. Para isso, 47 esfregaços cloacais foram realizados, e 65 amostras de fezes de patos criados em propriedades localizadas nos municípios de Fortaleza, Boa Água, Eusébio e Cascavel foram coletadas. As amostras foram submetidas ao processamento microbiológico. No pré-enriquecimento, todas as amostras de fezes e dos esfregaços cloacais coletados foram alocadas em água peptonada tamponada 0,1%. Para o enriquecimento seletivo, alíquotas da água peptonada com as amostras foram transferidas para tubos contendo Rappaport-Vassilliadis e Selenito-Cistina. Placas de Verde-Brilhante e MacConkey foram semeadas com o conteúdo dos tubos do enriquecimento. Colônias suspeitas escolhidas com base em características morfológicas foram semeadas em provas bioquímicas (TSI: Tríplice Açúcar Ferro; LIA: Ágar Lisina Ferro; e SIM: Sulfeto, Indol, Motilidade). As bactérias foram identificadas com base nas características bioquímicas. Foi detectado, a partir do exame microbiológico, que as enterobactérias mais prevalentes isoladas das amostras de esfregaços cloacais e de fezes foram Citrobacter sp., Proteus sp. e Enterobacter sp. Em menor frequência ocorreram Klebsiella sp., Hafnia sp., Escherichia coli, Shigella sp., Edwardsiella sp., Providencia sp. e Serratia sp. De acordo com a metodologia utilizada, concluiu-se que a microbiota intestinal dos patos avaliados não apresentava Salmonella sp., gênero bacteriano comumente associado a esta espécie de ave; entretanto, observou-se que a fauna microbiana era constituída pelas principais enterobactérias comuns a outras espécies de aves, sendo algumas potencialmente patogênicas aos animais e aos seres humanos.

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Several cases of animal and human salmonellosis caused by the Salmonella serotype Typhimurium have been reported. In animals, subclinical infection favors pathogen dissemination through feces. In this context, the domestic pigeon (Columba livia) with an asymptomatic condition may play an important role in the transmission of salmonellosis, through the elimination of contaminated feces in commercial aviaries or in poultry feed facilities, causing economic losses to the poultry industry and presenting a risk to public health. This study aimed to evaluate the mortality, clinical signs and the presence of Salmonella Typhimurium in the feces and organs of chicks previously inoculated with bacteria isolated from a pigeon. One-day-old chicks were distributed in two experimental groups (G1 and G2) of 32 birds each, and a control group of six birds. Two inocula of 0.4 and 0.7 mL with 10 5 and 10 6 colony forming units were used in G1 and G2 birds, respectively. At 1, 4, 7 and 14 days post-inoculation (dpi) fecal samples were pooled from each cage and individual cloacal swabs were collected. At 14 dpi, all chicks were euthanized and samples were collected from the liver, spleen, lung, cecum and intestine for microbiological analysis. Mortality was only observed among G2 birds (6.25%). Most birds presented clinical signs of diarrhea at 4 dpi and no symptom as observed at 14 dpi. The results from cloacal swabs demonstrated bacterial elimination in 68.8% and 53.1% of G2 and G1 birds, respectively at 1 dpi. Additionally, fecal samples had elevated bacterial shedding in all four periods of observation , with a higher excretion at 4 dpi (62.5%) for both groups. Among G2 birds, 74.2% were positive for the pathogen in the intestine; G1 birds presented the lowest rate of lung infection (29%), and both groups had more than 50% positivity for liver and caeca. The results revealed that infected chicks with a Salmonella Typhimurium strains isolated from pigeons may host the pathogen in several organs, and simultaneously present diarrheic disorders with significant levels of bacterial excretion in feces. ResumoNa literatura são relatados diversos casos de salmonelose em animais e humanos em vários países ocasionados pelo sorotipo Typhimurium. Em animais, a infeção subclínica favorece a disseminação do patógeno através das fezes. Nesse contexto, o pombo (Columba livia) com quadro assintomático pode desempenhar um importante papel na transmissão de salmonelose, mediante a excreção de fezes contaminadas em aviários comerciais ou em instalações de ração animal causando perdas econômicas para a indústria avícola, e proporcionando risco para a saúde pública. Objetivou-se avaliar a taxa de mortalidade, sinal clínico e a presença de Salmonella Typhimurium nas fezes e nos órgãos de pintinhos previamente inoculados com bactérias oriundas de pombo. Foram utilizados 70 pintos de corte de um dia de idade, os quais foram distribuídos aleatoriamente em dois grupos (G1 e G2) de 32 aves cada. Utilizou-se um grupo controle, constituído por seis...

A distocia em psitacideos é comum, sendo definida como uma obstrução do trato reprodutivo por um ou mais ovos, devido a problemas em sua formação, como também poder ser influenciada por fatores como os físicos, nutricionais e genéticos, entre outros. O presente trabalho objetivou relatar o caso clínico de uma calopsita (Nymphicus hollandicus) com aproximadamente dois anos de idade apresentando complicações isquêmicas renais secundárias à prolongada retenção de ovo, atendida no Hospital Veterinário Metropolitano do município de Caucaia -Ceará, diagnosticada com distocia após anamnese, exame físico e radiografia abdominal. Após confirmação da afecção, foi realizado tratamento de suporte seguido de ovocentese, no entanto, o paciente veio a óbito em 48 horas. Na necropsia, observou-se, o quadro de comprometimento metabólico em virtude do acúmulo dos ovos na cavidade, favorecendo a ruptura de oviduto, aderência e isquemia de outros órgãos.Palavras-chave: celiotomia, nefropatia, retenção de ovo, terapia conservativa Dystocia in Nymphicus hollandicus with metabolic complications due to renal ischemia: case reportAbstract. Dystocia in psitacides is common, being defined as an obstruction of the reproductive tract by one or more eggs, due to problems in its formation, as well as to be influenced factors such as physical, nutritional, and genetic among others. The present study aimed to report a clinical case of a female Nymphicus hollandicus, with about twoyear-old presenting with ischemic renal complications secondary to prolonged maintenance, attended at the Hospital Metropolitan veterinarian of the municipality of Caucaia -Ceará, diagnosed with dystocia after anamnesis, physical examination and radiography abdominal. After contamination of the condition, treatment was established support followed hours observes three eggs free in the celtic cavity, oviduct rupture, egg adherence medium with the intestine, and renal ischemia. It can be concluded that in cases of dystocia associated with late treatment there is a greater possibility of occurrence of metabolic impairment due to the accumulation of eggs in the cavity, favoring the rupture of oviduct, adhesion and ischemia of other organs.