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.

A AB BS ST TR RA AC CT TTemperature is the most important factor affecting embryonic development, hatchability and post hatch performance. Optimum incubation temperature is normally defined as that required to achieve maximum hatchability. This work was carried out to verify the effects of different incubation temperatures on hatchability, hatch weight, hatch time and embryonic mortality of Japanese quail eggs. A total of 800 eggs were divided in eight experimental groups that were incubated at different temperatures (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41ºC). The other incubation conditions were identical for all groups, 60±5% of relative humidity and egg turning every two hours until transference to the hatchers at 15 days of incubation. The results showed that fertile hatchability was higher for eggs incubated at 37 and 38ºC, 76.6 and 80.7%, respectively. Eggs incubated at 34ºC did not hatch and the ones incubated at 35 and 41ºC showed very poor hatchability. The other temperatures had hatch rates from 50.3 to 57.7%. There were higher hatch weights in eggs incubated at high temperatures (38-41°C) compared t o the ones incubated at the lower ones (35-37°C). T here was an enormous difference in the hatching time according to the incubation temperature. The difference of time between the groups of eggs that hatched earlier (40°C) compared to the ones the hatcher later (35°C) was 156.3 hou rs or 6.5 days. Embryos seemed to be resistant to at high temperatures until 40°C at the early period of incubation, ho wever the same was not observed at the later stages of incubation when high temperatures (39-41°C) increased embryoni c mortality.Key words: hatch performance; humidity; poultry; temperature R RE ES SU UM MO OA temperatura é o fator mais importante para o desenvolvimento embrionário, a eclodibilidade e o desempenho pós-nascimento de aves. A temperatura ideal é normalmente aquela que permite máxima eclodibilidade. Este trabalho verificou os efeitos de diferentes temperaturas de incubação sobre a eclodibilidade, perda de peso dos ovos, peso ao nascer, tempo de nascimento e mortalidade embrionária de ovos de codornas japonesas. Foram utilizados 800 ovos, divididos em oito grupos experimentais e incubados em diferentes temperaturas (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 e 41ºC). As demais condições de incubação foram idênticas para todos os grupos, 60±5% de umidade relativa e viragem a cada 2 horas até a transferência para a nascedoura no 15º dia de incubação. A eclodibilidade dos ovos férteis foi maior para os ovos incubados a 37 e 38ºC; 76,6 e 80,7%, respectivamente. Os ovos incubados a 34ºC não eclodiram e os incubados a 35 e 41ºC apresentaram um índice muito baixo de eclodibilidade. As outras temperaturas proporcionaram eclodibilidade entre 50,3 e 57,7%. Os pesos ao nascer foram elevados nos grupos incubados em temperaturas altas (38-41°C) quando comparados aos grupos incubados em temperaturas baixas (35-37°C). Observou-se diferen ça no tempo de nascimento de acordo com a temperatura de incubação. A diferença de tempo entre o...

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.