7.3 Salmonella species
What are the main characteristics of Salmonella?
Answer
Salmonella is a genus of Gram-negative rods with two species: S. enterica, which is divided into six sub-species, and S. bongori. A further level of classification, which is perhaps the most important from a practical standpoint, is the classification into more than 2500 Salmonella ‘
Salmonella is included in the list of priority pathogens for AMR surveillance in humans and animals as some species colonise the intestinal tract of humans and production animals and cause severe human diseases such as typhoid fever (humans) and salmonellosis (humans and animals). In animals, Salmonella strains cause clinical conditions ranging in severity from subclinical carriage to abortions, diarrhoeal disease, septicaemia and death.
Salmonella infections in farm animals are of great concern not only due to the significant impact of salmonellosis on farm economics, but mainly because of the severe consequences direct zoonotic and food-borne transmission have on public health. For these reasons, Salmonella isolation and identification represents a core capacity in animal microbiology diagnostic laboratories worldwide.
7.2.1 Isolation of E. coli
