Frequency of isolation of campylobacter spp., Yersinia spp. and salmonella spp. from small mammals from two sites in Southern Britain

Small wild mammals were trapped at two sites in the United Kingdom: Skomer Island, Dyfed and a farm in Dorset. Faecal samples were collected from 43 rodents of two species on Skomer and tested for the presence of Yersinia. Samples of faeces and of material from the terminal ileum were collected from 141 animals of eight species in Dorset and tested for Campylobacter, Yersinia and Salmonella. In addition some samples of spleens from the Dorset animals were tested for Campylobacter. Four typable isolates of Campylobacter were obtained from the Dorset site, two from spleens from shrews and two from intestinal contents from a bank vole. Nineteen isolations of Yersinia were made from the Skomer animals and seventeen from animals in Dorset. No isolations of Salmonella were made from any of the animals sampled.