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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2004, p. 2000-2002, Vol. 42, No. 5
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.5.2000-2002.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Assessment of Virulence of Pigeon Isolates of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Serovar Typhimurium Variant Copenhagen for Humans

Frank Pasmans,^1* Filip Van Immerseel,¹ Katleen Hermans,¹ Marc Heyndrickx,² Jean-Marc Collard,³ Richard Ducatelle,¹ and Freddy Haesebrouck¹

Department of Pathology, Bacteriology, and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke,¹ Department of Animal Product Quality and Transformation Technology, Center for Agricultural Research, 9090 Melle,² National Reference Centre for Salmonella and Shigella, Scientific Institute of Public Health, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium³

Received 11 September 2003/ Returned for modification 27 January 2004/ Accepted 17 February 2004

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium variant Copenhagen was isolated from 5 of 152 (3.3%) feral pigeons from the city of Ghent (Belgium) and from 26 pooled fecal samples from 114 pigeon lofts (22.8%). These isolates belonged to phage type (PT) 99. Seven of the pigeon isolates were further compared in vitro to five human variant Copenhagen isolates, 2 isolates of PT 208, 1 isolate each of PT 120 and U302, and a nontypeable isolate. No differences in invasiveness in human intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cells were found. The human strains, however, were able to multiply significantly more inside human THP-1 macrophages than the pigeon strains. After inoculation of mice with a pigeon PT 99 strain, high numbers of Salmonella bacteria were shed with the feces, the internal organs were heavily colonized, and the animals showed severe clinical symptoms resulting in death. In conclusion, the less-pronounced ability of the pigeon variant Copenhagen strains to multiply inside human macrophages than human strains as well as the lack of human PT 99 isolates during 2002, despite the relatively high frequency of this PT in the pigeon population, suggest these strains to be of low virulence to humans. However, the high virulence for mice of the tested strain implies that rodents may act as reservoirs.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Pathology, Bacteriology, and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. Phone: 32 9 264 74 44. Fax: 32 9 264 74 94. E-mail: frank.pasmans{at}UGent.be.

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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2004, p. 2000-2002, Vol. 42, No. 5
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.5.2000-2002.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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