Detection of Salmonella spp. in exotic pigeons of North Kerala and its antibiogram

Abstract

Pigeon breeding has transformed from being a mere hobby to becoming established as an industry. The increased trade of pigeons inadvertently invites the risk of dissemination of infections including zoonoses like salmonellosis. Pigeons once infected remain carriers for life. This coupled with the ability of the organism to acquire antimicrobial resistance makes salmonellosis, particularly from pigeons an important, public health risk for pigeon handlers. Cloacal swabs from a total of 200 exotic pigeons belonging to 24 lofts from Northern districts of Kerala were collected and attempted to isolate Salmonella and understand its antimicrobial resistance profile. Five isolates of salmonella could be obtained from four of the lofts studied. A prevalence of 2.5 per cent was identified for salmonellosis with 16.67 per cent of the lofts affected. Antimicrobial sensitivity based on disk diffusion assay revealed that all the five isolates were sensitive to amoxicillin-clavulanate and all were resistant to tetracycline and streptomycin. Sixty per cent of the isolates were sensitive to co-trimoxazole, chloramphenicol, ampicillin, cefoperazone, amikacin and gentamicin.

Keywords

• salmonellosis
• exotic pigeons
• antibiogram