The occurrence of salmonellae in rodent, shrew, cockroach and ant

The occurrence of salmonellae in common house-pests viz. rats, house-mice, shrews, cockroaches and ants was investigated during the period of Jan. 1976 to July 1979. Of 767 samples examined, 43 yielded different Salmonella serotypes. The isolation of salmonellae was made from 16 of 254 rats, 11 of 109 house-mice, 11 of 104 shrews, 3 of 270 cockroaches and 2 of 30 ants. The different Salmonella serotypes isolated included S. saint-paul, S. bareilly, S. newport, S. weltevreden, S. enteritidis, S. typhimurium, S. hvittingfoss, S. anatum, S. metopeni, S. waycross and S. paratyphi B. One shrew yielded three different serotypes of salmonellae, while dual infection was detected in three shrews and one rat.