Patterns of infection by Salmonella and Yersinia spp. in commensal house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) populations

Aims: This study sought to examine the risk posed by house mice transmitting pathogens to livestock on typical mixed-agriculture farms in the UK. Methods and Results: In a 10-month longitudinal study at one farm, 222 faecal samples were taken from mice and 57 swabs from the farm environment; 3.2% an...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied microbiology 2001-05, Vol.90 (5), p.755-760
Main Authors: Pocock, M.J.O, Searle, J.B, Betts, W.B, White, P.C.L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Animals, Domestic - microbiology
avirulent strains
Bacteriology
Biological and medical sciences
Disease Reservoirs
Epidemiology
farms
feces
Feces - microbiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Intestines - microbiology
livestock
Longitudinal Studies
Manure - microbiology
mice
Mice - microbiology
Microbiology
Mus musculus
Mus musculus domesticus
pathogens
Population Surveillance
Poultry - microbiology
risk
Rodent Control
Rodent Diseases - epidemiology
Rodentia
Salmonella
Salmonella - isolation & purification
Salmonella Infections, Animal - epidemiology
salmonellosis
serotypes
small mammals
United Kingdom - epidemiology
Yersinia
Yersinia - isolation & purification
Yersinia enterocolitica
Yersinia Infections - veterinary
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Aims: This study sought to examine the risk posed by house mice transmitting pathogens to livestock on typical mixed-agriculture farms in the UK. Methods and Results: In a 10-month longitudinal study at one farm, 222 faecal samples were taken from mice and 57 swabs from the farm environment; 3.2% and 15.8%, respectively, were positive for Yersinia. Seventy-five intestinal samples were taken from house mice from three other farms and 9.3% were positive for Yersinia. The commonest species was Y. enterocolitica (of a wide range of serotypes); all isolates were non-pathogenic, except one of Y. pseudotuberculosis. Salmonella was not isolated from any sample. Conclusions: This study provides additional evidence that house mice are generally not significant vectors of either pathogenic Yersinia strains or Salmonella species. Significance and Impact of the Study: This is the first longitudinal study of Yersinia in any small mammal population, and shows infection to be a dynamic series of generally non-pathogenic, transient infections.
ISSN:1364-5072
1365-2672
DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2672.2001.01303.x