Abstract
Wildlife can be a reservoir of infectious agents for humans and domestic and wild animals. In this regard, widespread Salmonella spp. in wildlife is a problem for public and environmental health. Currently, more than 2500 serovars of Salmonella spp. are widely distributed among humans, animals, and the environment. This ubiquity favors the bidirectional transmission of the pathogen between wild and domestic animals. Moreover, when farmed animals acquire Salmonella spp. from wildlife, the likelihood of humans becoming infected increases. The risk is higher in forest environments impacted by human activities or when animals are removed from their natural habitat. Consequently, human contact with wild animals in captivity increases the risk of salmonellosis outbreaks. These animals are often carriers of Salmonella spp. strains multiresistant to antibiotics, which makes it difficult to treat and control the disease. Therefore, prevention and control measures of this pathogen must include both the pathogen-host relationship and the environment, with a surveillance system for emerging and re-emerging diseases from wildlife.
Highlights
Salmonella spp. is a bacterium with pathogenic characteristics often associated with food infections and outbreaks, with serious public health implications
Wild animals can be asymptomatic carriers of Salmonella spp., with the bacterium remaining in equilibrium with the intestinal microbiota
Cases of salmonellosis in humans caused by contact with wild animals kept away from their natural habitat have been reported (Table 2)
Summary
Natural environments have been altered by the destruction of forests and habitats to expand habitable zones for humans. Latency corresponds to a state in which the individual does not present clinical symptomatology, but continues eliminating the agent intermittently in the Enterobacteria feces These asymptomatic latent carriers become natural reservoirs and, maintainers of the pathogen both in the food chain and in the environment. Wild animals can be asymptomatic carriers of Salmonella spp., with the bacterium remaining in equilibrium with the intestinal microbiota When these animals are kept away from their natural habitat, the resulting stress compromises their immune system and destabilizes the microbiota, leading to increased elimination of the pathogen in feces. Wild animals kept in captivity tend to have a higher prevalence of Salmonella spp. than free-living animals, possibly leading to outbreaks of salmonellosis in humans due to cross-contamination by serotypes of Salmonella spp. The prevention and control of this pathogen demand interdisciplinary and international cooperation based on shared data to ensure a more effective approach to outbreaks
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