Antibiotic resistance in Salmonella isolated from Tegu (Tupinambis sp.) in Italy

In recent years more human clinical cases of reptile-associated Salmonella infection have been identified due to these animals increasing popularity as pets. Limited information are available about serotypes distribution in different reptiles species and antimicrobial resistance of strains isolated in pet reptiles. This paper describes prevalence of Salmonella carriage and distribution of serotypes and antibiotic susceptibility patterns in faecal swabs from 14 Tegu lizards. Eighteen strains of Salmonella belonging to different serotypes were obtained from the 14 cloacal swabs. 8 out of the 18 Salmonella isolates were grouped in the Salmonella subspecies I, with a majority of isolates belonging to Eastbourne (three strains), Nottingham (two strains) and Brancaster (two strains) serotypes and only one to Apapa serotype. Less common serotypes were detected in 5 further isolates, including 2 each belonging, respectively, to Salmonella II and IIIb subspecies, and one to Salmonella IIIa subspecies. The serotype of five further Salmonella isolates could not be determined. All the 18 isolates were resistant to at least six of the antimicrobial drugs tested. These results confirm the potential zoonotic risk from handling reptiles, suggesting that measures to educate the public about this risk are necessary.