Zoonoses and Public Health, 2015, 62, pg, 438–444
The purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence, antimicrobial resis-
tance patterns, phenotypic and genotypic relatedness of Salmonella enterica
recovered from captive wildlife host species and in the environment in Ohio,
USA. A total of 319 samples including faecal (n = 225), feed (n = 38) and envi-
ronmental (n = 56) were collected from 32 different wild and exotic animal spe-
cies in captivity and their environment in Ohio. Salmonellae were isolated using
conventional culture methods and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility with the
Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion method. Salmonella isolates were serotyped, and
genotyping was performed using the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Sal-
monella was detected in 56 of 225 (24.9%) faecal samples; six of 56 (10.7%) envi-
ronmental samples and six of 38 (15.8%) feed samples. Salmonella was more
commonly isolated in faecal samples from giraffes (78.2%; 36/46), cranes (75%;
3/4) and raccoons (75%; 3/4). Salmonella enterica serotypes of known public
health significance including S. Typhimurium (64.3%), S. Newport (32.1%) and
S. Heidelberg (5.3%) were identified. While the majority of the Salmonella iso-
lates were pan-susceptible (88.2%; 60 of 68), multidrug-resistant strains including
penta-resistant type, AmStTeKmGm (8.8%; six of 68) were detected. Genotypic
diversity was found among S. Typhimurium isolates. The identification of clon-
ally related Salmonella isolates from environment and faeces suggests that indirect transmission of Salmonella among hosts via environmental contamination is an
important concern to workers, visitors and other wildlife. Results of this study
show the diversity of Salmonella serovars and public health implications of
human exposure from wildlife reservoirs.