Lack of evidence of spill-over of Salmonella enterica between cattle and sympatric Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) from a protected area in Catalonia, NE Spain.

SummarySalmonella enterica is a zoonotic agent of worldwide importance found in a widerange of wild hosts. However, its prevalence in many popular game species hasnever been assessed. Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) is the main game caprinae ofthe Iberian Peninsula and around two thousand individuals are hunted every yearfor trophy or for home consumption. In this work, 313 Iberian ibexes from thePorts de Tortosa i Beseit National Game Reserve (NE Spain) were tested for Sal-monella enterica in faeces, and anti microbial susceptibility was determined. Theexact location of shooting or capture was recorded with a GPS device to study thelinks of Salmonella infection with cattle presence and human proximity. Addi-tionally, samples were taken from cattle grazing inside this reserve (n = 73). Onlythree Iberian ibexes (0.96%, 95% CI 0.2–2.8) were positive to Salmonella (sero-type Enteritidis, Bardo and 35:r:z35), while prevalence was moderate in cattle:21.92% (95% CI 13.10–33.14, serotype Meleagridis, Anatum, Kedougou andOthmarschen). All isolates were susceptible to the anti microbial agents tested.Moreover, a case of fatal septicaemic salmonellosis in an 11-year-old male Iberianibex is described where Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis was isolated fromthe lung, liver and spleen samples. The low prevalence of Salmonella in Iberianibex and the lack of shared serotypes suggest no association to cattle. Despite this,game meat aimed for human consumption should be examined, and it is stronglyrecommended that hunters and game keepers manipulate animals and carcassesunder maximal hygienic conditions to avoid environmental contamination andhuman contagion.IntroductionSalmonellosis continues to be the second most frequentzoonoses in the European Union (EFSA, 2012). However,many gaps exist in our knowledge about its presence anddistribution in wildlife, which has been stated to be a com-mon reservoir. Particularly, game species may play a moreimportant role in its epidemiology, displaying an increasedrisk for public health owing to (i) its meat being consumedby humans and (ii) being abundant species potentiallyinvolved in environmental contamination (e.g. watersources, recreational waters or pastures). In fact, diseasetransmission between sympatric wildlife and livestock canbe of particular concern in relation to wild ungulates,which frequently share habitat resources with domesticlivestock (Boehm et al., 2007).The Iberian ibex is among the species about which thereis a lack of information. It is the main game caprinae of the