Salmonella in the wildlife-human interface

Non-typhoidal salmonellosis is the most important bacterial foodborne infection causing disease cases in humans in industrialized countries. Food from food producing animals like eggs, chicken meat, pork or beef accounts for most cases of salmonellosis. Additionally, Salmonella resides in a variety of different hosts, including animals living in the wild, and there have been reports where the outbreak strains could be tracked down to wildlife. The focus of this review is to consider different pathways by which wildlife can be involved in human salmonellosis: 1. via contact with domestic animals as transmission or accumulation vectors 2. by direct contact with humans 3. through meat of wild animals and 4. by contamination of food or food producing units. Here, we outline different routes of Salmonella-italic transmission to humans via wildlife, and also discuss their host specificity, husbandry practices, reservoirs, survival and growth characteristics in food commodities in this context.

►We review wildlife as a source of human Salmonellosis. ►Salmonella transfer between wildlife and food producing animals. ►Direct contact of humans to Salmonella harboring wild birds and reptiles. ►Salmonella in meat from wild boar, birds, reptiles. ►Salmonella contamination of food through wildlife.