An Invasive Species Red-eared Slider (<i>Trachemys Scripta Elegans</i>) Carrying <i>Salmonella</i> Pathogens in Hainan Island

Abstract

The red-eared slider ( Trachemys scripta elegans ) is a semiaquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. It is native to the southern United States, but has become established in other places because of pet releases. It is the most popular pet turtle in the United States and also popular in the rest of the world. In China the red-eared slider listed as an invasive and quarantinable species due to carring the Salmonella pathogens. In this research we collected 68 individuls of the wild red-eared sliders from Nandujiang (Nandu river), Wanquanhe (Wanquan river) and Haikoudonghu (East Lake of Haikou City) in Hainan island of the most southern of China. We sampled the tissue and mucus from from cloacae of the red-eared sliders used for Salmonella bacterial culture to observe its morphology, biochemical characteristics and serotypes. The result showed that the total carrier rate of Salmonella carring in the tested red-eared sliders reach 54.41% (n=68), of which the carrier rate in Nandujiang is 53.85% (n=26), in Wanquanhe 58.82%(n=34),and Haikoudonghu 50% (n=8). The serotypes of Salmonella in the tested red-eared sliders were indentified to be S. litchfiled , S. chailey , S. senftenberg , and S. Stanley . In this research we strong suggested that the wild red-eared slider carrying Salmonella pathogens in Hainan island be potential dangerous impact on the ecological system and island resident.