Microbial implications associated with stomach flushing of little penguins

The stomach flushing technique is a vital tool in bird dietary studies. The technique requires a tube to be inserted into the penguin's mouth and passed through the oesophagus to the stomach. General practice does not include cleaning of the tube between penguins. This report investigates if the stomach flushing tube can be a vehicle to transmit potential pathogens from a sick penguin to a healthy penguin, and if implementation of aseptic or disinfection practice is warranted in the stomach flushing technique. A total of 19 tubes from 19 penguins were examined for bacterial presence from May until August 2007. This paper presents new recommendations for stomach flushing procedures from a microbial perspective to ensure that birds subjected to this are not jeopardised by practices that may promote the transfer of potential pathogens from one penguin to another.