Importation of salmonellae with aquarium species

An examination of shipments of aquarium species arriving in Canada over a 2-year period revealed that one-third of the shipments of aquarium snails and aquarium frogs were contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella were also isolated from a shipment of aquarium newts but were not recovered from goldfish. Included among these salmonellae were four of the serovars most commonly associated with human salmonellosis in Canada. Several unusual salmonellae were also isolated including a Salmonella florida that produced a delayed, weakly positive o-nitrophenyl-beta-D-galactosidase reaction, and a bacteriophage 14 lysogenized Salmonella mbandaka. The association of salmonellae with aquarium species is clearly adding to the pool of this human pathogen in Canada, and may contribute to human infections.