Salmonella serovar spectrum associated with reptiles in Poland

This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of Salmonella isolates from a wide variety of reptiles in Poland. A total of 374 faecal samples from chelonians, lizards and snakes were collected between 2009 and 2012. The nested, two-step PCR and multiplex PCR were performed to access the incidence and to characterize Salmonella isolates. Salmonella strains were found in 122 of 374 samples (32.6%). Among the different reptilian species, Salmonella strains were found in 58 samples from lizards (38.9%), 31 samples from snakes (28.7%) and 33 samples from chelonians (28.2%). Of the total of 122 strains, 72 belonged to the species Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica, 20 to the species S. enterica subs. salamae or S. enterica subs. houtanae. The incidence of S. enterica subs. diarizonae and S. enterica subs. indica was low, constituting less than 3.5% of the examined population. The findings show that reptiles can be considered as a reservoir for Salmonella and hence could pose a zoonotic hazard. In addition, multiplex PCR assay is a rapid, specific and easy-to-perform method and might be applied for rapid screening of large numbers of Salmonella samples.