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Microbiological profile of oral cavity of and occurrence of Salmonella spp. in sugar gliders

Sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) are popular pockets pets in Japan, Canada and United States and now gaining popularity in Malaysia. The close relationship between humans and pets may lead to possible health hazards if the animals are infected with zoonotic pathogens. To date, not much is known ab...

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Main Authors: Hassan, Nur Diana, Abdul Aziz, Saleha, Bejo, Siti Khairani, Che' Amat, Azlan
Format: Conference or Workshop Item
Language:English
Published: 2012
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/26836/1/PROCEEDING%2050.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/26836/
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spelling my.upm.eprints.268362016-08-10T08:29:12Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/26836/ Microbiological profile of oral cavity of and occurrence of Salmonella spp. in sugar gliders Hassan, Nur Diana Abdul Aziz, Saleha Bejo, Siti Khairani Che' Amat, Azlan Sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) are popular pockets pets in Japan, Canada and United States and now gaining popularity in Malaysia. The close relationship between humans and pets may lead to possible health hazards if the animals are infected with zoonotic pathogens. To date, not much is known about the potential health hazard of keeping sugar gliders as pet. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the microbiological profile of oral mucosa in sugar gliders, to determine the occurrence of Salmonella spp. in sugar gliders and to determine the antibiotic resistance of the isolates against six types of antibiotics namely enrofloxacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethazole, tetracycline, ceftiofur, penicillin G and neomycin. Thirty-seven oral swabs and 37 faecal samples were collected from 18 individual owners and a breeder. Nine species of bacteria isolated were Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Escherichia coli, Pasteurella spp., Staphylococcus spp., Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus delphini and Streptococcus viridans. Most of the isolates were normal microflora in other pet animals, such as cats, dogs, and parrots. Eight (22.9%) faecal samples were positive for Salmonella spp of which only 1 (12.5%) was from individual owner, while the other seven (87.5%) were from the breeder. Two serovars of Salmonella spp. isolated were Salmonella Albany (62.5%) and Salmonella London (37.5%). The high occurrence of Salmonella in the animals suggested that they are of potential risk in disease transmission to humans. All the Salmonella spp. isolates were susceptible to three types of antibiotic, Enrofloxacin, Trimethoprim-Sulfamethazole, and Tetracycline. Of these isolates, 33.3% were sensitive to Ceftiofur and the rest were intermediately sensitive. However, all were resistant to Penicillin G and Neomycin. The presence of Salmonella spp. in these pet animals poses a health risk to the owners. Owners are advised to their wash their hands thoroughly after handling these animals, clean the cages frequently, bring these animals for regular veterinarian check-ups, and for immunocompromised people, to avoid handling these animals. 2012 Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/26836/1/PROCEEDING%2050.pdf Hassan, Nur Diana and Abdul Aziz, Saleha and Bejo, Siti Khairani and Che' Amat, Azlan (2012) Microbiological profile of oral cavity of and occurrence of Salmonella spp. in sugar gliders. In: 7th Seminar in Veterinary Sciences, 27 Feb.-2 Mar. 2012, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia. (p. 111).
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
building UPM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Putra Malaysia
content_source UPM Institutional Repository
url_provider http://psasir.upm.edu.my/
language English
description Sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) are popular pockets pets in Japan, Canada and United States and now gaining popularity in Malaysia. The close relationship between humans and pets may lead to possible health hazards if the animals are infected with zoonotic pathogens. To date, not much is known about the potential health hazard of keeping sugar gliders as pet. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the microbiological profile of oral mucosa in sugar gliders, to determine the occurrence of Salmonella spp. in sugar gliders and to determine the antibiotic resistance of the isolates against six types of antibiotics namely enrofloxacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethazole, tetracycline, ceftiofur, penicillin G and neomycin. Thirty-seven oral swabs and 37 faecal samples were collected from 18 individual owners and a breeder. Nine species of bacteria isolated were Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Escherichia coli, Pasteurella spp., Staphylococcus spp., Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus delphini and Streptococcus viridans. Most of the isolates were normal microflora in other pet animals, such as cats, dogs, and parrots. Eight (22.9%) faecal samples were positive for Salmonella spp of which only 1 (12.5%) was from individual owner, while the other seven (87.5%) were from the breeder. Two serovars of Salmonella spp. isolated were Salmonella Albany (62.5%) and Salmonella London (37.5%). The high occurrence of Salmonella in the animals suggested that they are of potential risk in disease transmission to humans. All the Salmonella spp. isolates were susceptible to three types of antibiotic, Enrofloxacin, Trimethoprim-Sulfamethazole, and Tetracycline. Of these isolates, 33.3% were sensitive to Ceftiofur and the rest were intermediately sensitive. However, all were resistant to Penicillin G and Neomycin. The presence of Salmonella spp. in these pet animals poses a health risk to the owners. Owners are advised to their wash their hands thoroughly after handling these animals, clean the cages frequently, bring these animals for regular veterinarian check-ups, and for immunocompromised people, to avoid handling these animals.
format Conference or Workshop Item
author Hassan, Nur Diana
Abdul Aziz, Saleha
Bejo, Siti Khairani
Che' Amat, Azlan
spellingShingle Hassan, Nur Diana
Abdul Aziz, Saleha
Bejo, Siti Khairani
Che' Amat, Azlan
Microbiological profile of oral cavity of and occurrence of Salmonella spp. in sugar gliders
author_facet Hassan, Nur Diana
Abdul Aziz, Saleha
Bejo, Siti Khairani
Che' Amat, Azlan
author_sort Hassan, Nur Diana
title Microbiological profile of oral cavity of and occurrence of Salmonella spp. in sugar gliders
title_short Microbiological profile of oral cavity of and occurrence of Salmonella spp. in sugar gliders
title_full Microbiological profile of oral cavity of and occurrence of Salmonella spp. in sugar gliders
title_fullStr Microbiological profile of oral cavity of and occurrence of Salmonella spp. in sugar gliders
title_full_unstemmed Microbiological profile of oral cavity of and occurrence of Salmonella spp. in sugar gliders
title_sort microbiological profile of oral cavity of and occurrence of salmonella spp. in sugar gliders
publishDate 2012
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/26836/1/PROCEEDING%2050.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/26836/
_version_ 1643829025064353792
score 13.211869

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