South Asian Journal of Research in Microbiology

Piggery habitats are a substantial reservoir and are frequently asymptomatic carriers of the bacterium, Salmonella. Salmonella can be shed in faeces, urine allowing infection to spread to other pigs and the environment. Therefore, there is a need to determine the prevalence and some virulence factors of Salmonella spp in pigs and piggery. The study areas were M & K pig farm Alakahia (station A) and Rivers State University pig farm (station B). A total evaluation of 112 samples were obtained with seven sample types comprising of faeces, floor, food trough, foreskin, urine, walls, and water trough were aseptically collected using sterile universal bottle and swab sticks. Samples were examined for presence of Salmonella using standard microbiological approach for enumeration and identification. Mean Salmonella-Shigella counts (SSC) for faecal sample ranges for station A and B were: 1.6 to 3.1x10⁵cfu/g, floor 5x10⁴ to 2.0x10⁵cfu/m², food trough 3x10⁴ to 1.2x10⁵cfu/m², Foreskin 4x10⁴ to 1.4x10⁵cfu/m², urine 0 to 1x10⁴cfu/ml, Wall 5x10⁴ to 2x10⁵cfu/m², Water trough 6x10⁴ to 1.3x10⁵cfu/m². Seventy-five isolates of Salmonella belonging to 5 species were isolated which include with feacal sample recording the highest prevalence (10.7%) at both locations. The virulence test performed on all Salmonella isolates were 100% motile, haemolysis, catalase and S. typhimurium (80%), S. choloraesius (89.4%), S. enterica (93.3%) S.enteritidis (54.5%) and S. bongori (100%) to biofilm production test. The high prevalence and virulent factors observed in this study indicate high potential risk of transmission of Salmonella spp in piggery, which can have a serious implication to public health. It is essential that a more effective control strategies be employed to minimize the prevalence of salmonella spp in pigs and piggery in Port Harcourt metropolis.