Epidemiology of Salmonellosis in Garden Birds in England and Wales, 1993 to 2003

Abstract

Salmonellosis has been reported as an important cause of mortality of garden birds in several countries, including Norway and Scotland. We investigated the frequency of the disease in garden birds submitted for postmortem examination by members of the public in England and Wales between 1993 and 2003, inclusive. We found salmonellosis to be the most frequent cause of death due to infectious disease in the garden birds submitted. This disease was confirmed in 7 of the 45 bird species that were examined postmortem, with the greenfinch (Carduelis chloris) and the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) most frequently affected. Salmonella Typhimurium definitive phage type (DT) 40, DT56 variant(v), and DT160 accounted for the majority of isolates. Salmonellosis incidents chiefly occurred in the English Midlands, the English/Welsh border region, and southern England. Variation in the temporal and spatial distribution of the phage types occurred over the study period. While birds were examined throughout the year, there was a marked winter seasonality in salmonellosis. A significant sex bias was observed in affected greenfinches, with males more frequently diagnosed with salmonellosis than females. No sex bias was observed for other affected species. Further research is required to determine if salmonellosis is an important constraint to the populations of affected species and if disease outbreaks are driven by human factors, such as provisioning.

The emergence and spread of finch trichomonosis in the British Isles

“…The period from 1 April to 30 September was selected to minimize the likelihood of confounding trichomonosis data with mortality due to salmonellosis, outbreaks of which occur almost exclusively during the winter months and which, like finch trichomonosis, result in non-specific signs of malaise in finches [12,16]. Finch trichomonosis incidents, however, do occur to some degree throughout the calendar year; application of these criteria, therefore, underestimates the frequency of this disease.…”

“…using light microscopy or culture-the labile nature of the parasite makes detection difficult following the death of the host [17]-for which nested PCR results were not available, and which were negative on culture for Salmonella sp. (salmonellosis can cause similar necrotic ingluvitis lesions in birds, and the strain typically encountered, S. Typhimurium, is environmentally resistant and comparatively simple to culture [16]). …”

Surveillance for Newcastle Disease Virus, Avian Influenza Virus and Mycoplasma Gallisepticum in Wild Birds Near Commercial Poultry Farms Surrounded by Atlantic Rainforest Remnants, Southeastern Brazil

“…Moreover, these dominant synanthropic birds may provide an epidemiological connection, transmitting pathogens from domestic poultry to endangered birds in nearby forest fragments (Gondim et al, 2010;Lawson et al, 2010;Fontana et al, 2011;Scherer et al, 2011;Tramer, 1969).…”

Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis Supports the Presence of Host-Adapted Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Serovar Typhimurium Strains in the British Garden Bird Population

“…Salmonellosis is a common disease of garden birds in Great Britain, chiefly affecting highly social and seed-eating species, such as the greenfinch (Carduelis chloris), chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), and house sparrow (Passer domesticus), during the winter months (10,14). The bacterium Salmonella enterica subsp.…”

“…The bacterium Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) (8,15) is the causative agent, with the definitive phage types (DT) 40 and DT56variant (DT56v) having been most frequently isolated since the 1990s (14,21).…”