Aerobic bacterial oral flora of garter snakes: development of normal flora and pathogenic potential for snakes and humans

Goldstein, Ellie J. C.; Agyare, E O; Vagvolgyi, A. E.; Halpern, Mimi

doi:10.1128/jcm.13.5.954-956.1981

Cited by 70 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In addition, our results confirm snakes are colonized with Salmonella spp. (Goldstein et al 1981). To prevent reptile-associated Salmonella infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC 2003) have issued recommendations for the handling of reptiles.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oral flora of Python regius kept as pets

Dipineto

Russo

Calabria

et al. 2014

Lett Appl Microbiol

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Significance and Impact of the Study: The oral cavity of snakes sampled harboured a wide range of bacteria. Our results suggest that people who come in contact with snakes could be at risk of infection and should follow proper hygiene practices when handling these reptiles. AbstractThis study was aimed at evaluating the oral bacterial flora of 60 Python regius kept as pets by culture and biochemical methods. All isolates were also submitted to antimicrobial susceptibility testing using the disc diffusion method. The oral cavity of snakes sampled harboured a wide range of Gramnegative bacteria mainly constituted by Pseudomonas spp., Morganella morganii, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Aeromonas hydrophila, but also by Salmonella spp. Staphylococcus spp. was the commonest Gram-positive isolates, and various anaerobic Clostridium species were also found. The most effective antimicrobial agents were enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, followed by doxycycline and gentamicin. IntroductionIt is estimated that about 640 000 live reptiles are traded annually worldwide (Dipineto et al. 2012). Regarding snakes, there are over 2900 species in the world and a variety of snake species have enjoyed increasing popularity as pets during the last few years (Mitchell 2009). The most common, by far, are the colubrids, boids and python. However, although this increasing popularity is positive for veterinarians and herpetoculturists interested in the captive care and management of these animals, it has also caused increased concerns among public health officials because of the zoonotic potential (e.g. Salmonella) associated with these animals. Bacterial diseases of reptiles are occasionally caused by primary pathogens but often are the result of an immunocompromising condition, such as inappropriate temperatures, humidity or enclosure hygiene (Chinnadurai and Devoe 2009).The oral flora of snakes comprises a wide range of aerobic and anaerobic micro-organisms, especially the faecal Gram-negative rods, because their prey usually defecate while being ingested (Garg et al. 2009). Studies on the bacterial flora in snake's mouth have been undertaken worldwide (Blaylock 2001;Shek et al. 2009), but for Italy, specific data are lacking. The present study was therefore aimed at evaluating the oral bacterial flora of Python regius, one of the most popular snake species kept as pet worldwide. Results and discussionThe oropharynx of the P. regius checked in the present study contained a wide range of bacteria mainly represented by Gram-negative bacteria as proven by Gram staining. In particular, on each smear was visualized a prevalence of 80% for Gram-negative bacteria vs a prevalence of 20% for Gram-positive bacteria. Among Gram-negative isolates, Pseudomonas spp., identified as Ps. aeruginosa (n = 42) and Ps. putida (n = 9), were the commonest micro-organism (85%) followed by Morganella morganii (75%), Acinetobacter calcoaceticus (40%) and Citrobacter freundii (40%). Other important Gramnegative pathogens included Aeromonas hydrophila (30%) and Prot...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oral flora of Python regius kept as pets

Dipineto

Russo

Calabria

et al. 2014

Lett Appl Microbiol

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“…Isolates could also be recovered from oral swabs. Previous reports described P. aeruginosa as part of the normal oral and faecal flora of healthy snakes (Draper et al, 1981;Goldstein et al, 1981), but the reported prevalence was lower. Draper and colleagues (1981) mentioned P. aeruginosa for 10% of the tested snakes only.…”

Section: Widespread Distribution Of P Aeruginosa Among Captive Snakesmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…During the last decade, reptiles have enjoyed increasing popularity as domestic pets in the United States, in Japan and in Europe. The natural microflora of snake mouths and cloacae is dominated mainly by Gram-positive bacteria, in particular corynebacteria and coagulase-negative staphylococci (Goldstein et al, 1981). However, Gram-negative bacteria including Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas species have also been observed (Goldstein et al, 1979;Blaylock, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of pathogens such as P. aeruginosa and Aeromonas hydrophila was mentioned for cases of infectious stomatitis among snakes (Draper et al, 1981). The analysis of the oral flora of gartner snakes (Goldstein et al, 1981) also led to the observation of these last two species. The oral and faecal flora of snakes can thus expose human populations to certain pathogens (Geue and Löschner, 2002;Briones et al, 2004) and lead to a dissemination of antimicrobial resistances (Seepersadsingh and Adesiyun, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genetic analyses of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from healthy captive snakes: evidence of high inter‐ and intrasite dissemination and occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes

Colinon

Jocktane

Brothier

et al. 2010

Environmental Microbiology

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Faecal carriage of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated by selective plating and PCR identification test, among healthy captive snakes from zoological and private collections from France as well as from wild snakes from Guinea. P. aeruginosa faecal carriage among captive snakes was high (72 out of 83 individuals), but low among wild specimen (3 out of 23 individuals). Genetic diversity analyses of the isolates, based on SpeI-PFGE profiles, evidenced five dominant clones or clonal complexes spreading among snakes within a site and between sites and persisting over time. Similar clones or clonal complexes were detected from mouth swabs of the owners and from water and preys used to feed the snakes, evidencing various sources of snake colonization and the first cases of P. aeruginosa cross-contamination between snakes and owners. These observations led to the conclusion that P. aeruginosa behaves as an opportunistic species within snakes in captivity and that colonization and dissemination occurs consecutively to processes similar to those identified within the hospital. Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed that most isolates had a wild-type resistance profile except for one persistent clone isolated from both snakes and preys that harboured multiple antimicrobial resistance genes mediated by an integron carrying the qacH, aadB, aadA2 and cmlA10 cassettes, and a tetA(C)-carrying transposon. Biocides or antibiotics used in the zoological garden could have led to the acquisition of this integron.

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“…Edwardsiella tarda, a Gram-negative bacterium of the family Edwardsiella, is one of the more serious bacterial diseases of several cultured fish (Miyazaki and Kaige, 1985;Wakabayashi and Egusa, 1973). This organism has a broad host range, having been isolated from mammals, birds and reptiles (Bockemuhl et al, 1971;Goldstein et al, 1981;Owens et al, 1974;Watson and White, 1978;Wilson et al, 1989). However, little information is available regarding what virulence factors may be important for causing disease.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%