Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-p2v8j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-07T06:51:21.024Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The herring gull Larus argentatus as a carrier of salmonella

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2009

Jennifer Butterfield ,
J. C. Coulson ,
Susan V. Kearsey ,
Patricia Monaghan ,
J. H. McCoy  and
G. E. Spain
Jennifer Butterfield
Affiliation:
Zoology Department, University of Durham, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE
J. C. Coulson
Affiliation:
Zoology Department, University of Durham, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE
Susan V. Kearsey
Affiliation:
Zoology Department, University of Durham, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE
Patricia Monaghan
Affiliation:
Zoology Department, University of Durham, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE
J. H. McCoy
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Hull Royal Infirmary, Anlaby Road, Hull, HU3 2JZ
G. E. Spain
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Hull Royal Infirmary, Anlaby Road, Hull, HU3 2JZ
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The proportion of salmonella carriers among town-nesting herring gulls increased significantly from 2·1% in 1975–6 to 8·4% in 1979. The range of serotypes carried by herring gulls was similar to that causing infection in man, and it is likely that the gulls ingest these serotypes when feeding at untreated sewage outfalls on the coast. This is supported by the proportion of salmonella carriers being higher among first-year birds (9·7%) than among older birds (2·0%), as it is known that higher proportions of immature herring gulls feed on the coast. Herring gulls carrying salmonellas appeared healthy at the time of capture and at a later date it was assumed that they were not themselves infected. However, their habit of congregating in large numbers on reservoirs and rubbish tips and also at resting sites on farmland often far from feeding and roosting areas, multiplies thejpollution problem and increases the potential health hazard for both man and farm stock. Herring gulls feed at a variety of sites and fly many miles from food source to food source and from feeding areas to the roost. Thus, even within the same day, there is the possibility of the transfer of salmonellas over a much wider area than previously considered.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Hygiene , Volume 91 , Issue 3 , December 1983 , pp. 429 - 436
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

References

REFERENCES

Brown, D. D., Ross, J. G. & Smith, A. F. G. (1977). Experimental infection of sheep with Salmonella infantis. British Veterinary Journal 133, 435–441.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cramp, S., Bourne, W. R. P. & Saunders, D. (1974). The Seabirds of Britain and Ireland. London: Collins.Google Scholar
Crew, S. M. (1967). Worm eggs found in gull droppings. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 61, 358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, N. (1981). The Abbeystead and Mallowdale gull colony before control. Bird Study 28, 133–138.Google Scholar
Edel, W., Schothorst, M. van, Kampelmacher, E. H. (1976). Epidemiological studies on Salmonella in a certain area (‘Walcheren Project’). The presence of Salmonella in man, pigs, seagulls and in foods and effluents. Zentralblatt für Bakteriologie Parasitenkunde Infektionskrankheiten und Hygiene. I. Abt. Orig. A. 325, 476–484.Google Scholar
Fenlon, D. R. (1981). Seagulls (Larus spp.) as vectors of salmonellae: an investigation into the range of serotypes and numbers of salmonellae in gull faeces. Journal of Hygiene 86, 195–202. 86, 195–202.Google Scholar
Fennell, H., James, D. B. & Morris, J. (1974). Pollination of a storage reservoir by roosting gulls. Water Treatment and Examination 23, 5–2.Google Scholar
Hall, G. A. & Jones, P. W. (1978). A study of the susceptibility to oral infection by salmonellas contained in raw sewage sludge. Journal of Hygiene 80, 409–414.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris, M. P. (1970). Rates and causes of increases of some British gull populations. Bird Study 17, 325–335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hickling, R. A. O. (1977). Inland wintering of gulls in England and Wales. Bird Study 24, 79–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, W. S., Maclachlan, G. K. & Hopkins, G. F. (1979). The possible involvement of seagulls (Larus spp.) in the transmission of salmonella in dairy cattle. Veterinary Record 105, 526–527.Google Scholar
Macdonald, J. W. & Brown, D. D. (1974). Salmonella infection in wild birds in Britain. Veterinary Record 94, 321–322.Google Scholar
McCoy, J. H. (1963). Salmonellae in crude sewage, sewage effluent and sewage-polluted natural waters. International Journal of Air and Water Pollution 7, 597–611.Google Scholar
McCoy, J. H. & Spain, G. E. (1960). Soc. Appl. Bact. Tech. Series No. 3. Isolation Methods for Microbiologists, pp. 17–27 (ed. Shapton, D. A. and Gould, G. W.). London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Monaghan, P. (1980). Dominance and dispersal between feeding sites in the herring gull (Larus argentatus). Animal Behaviour 28, 521–527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monaohan, P. & Coulson, J. C. (1977). Status of large gulls nesting on buildings. Bird Study 24, 89–104.Google Scholar
Pagon, S., Sonnabend, W. & Krech, U. (1974). Epidemiologic relationships between human and animal Salmonella carriers and their environment in the Swiss region of the Lake of Constance. Zentralblatt für Bakteriologie Parasitenkunde Infektionskrankheiten und Hygiene. I. Abt. Orig. B 158, 395–411.Google ScholarPubMed
Rolfe, V. (1946). Note on the preparation of tetrathionate broth. Monthly Bulletin of the Ministry of Health and Public Health and Public Health Laboratory Service 5, 158.Google ScholarPubMed
Smith, M. G. (1977). Transfer of R factors from Escherichia coli to salmonellas in the rumen of sheep. Journal of Medical Microbiology 10, 29–35.Google Scholar
Spence, J. B. & Westwood, A. (1978). Salmonella agona infection in sheep. Veterinary Record 102, 332–336.Google Scholar
Steiniger, F. (1970). Transport of micro-organisms by migratory birds between Europe and South Africa, in relation to bird-ringing and disinfection. Panafrican Ornithological Congress 1969. Pretoriuskop. Abstr. 283–297.Google Scholar
Taylor, R. J. & Burrows, M. R. (1971). The survival of Escherichia coli and Salmonella dublin in slurry on pasture and the infectivity of S. dublin for grazing calves. British Veterinary Journal 127, 536–542.Google Scholar
Williams, B. M., Richards, D. W. & Lewis, J. (1976). Salmonella infection in the herring gull (Larus argentatus). Veterinary Record 98, 51.Google Scholar
Williams, B. M., Richards, D. W., Stephens, D. P. & Griffiths, T. (1977). The transmission of S. livingstone to cattle by the herring gull (Larus argentatus). Veterinary Record 100, 450–451.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed