In the United States, ~1.4 million sporadic human Salmonella enterica infections occur annually, with an estimated 6% attributable to reptile exposure. Detection of Salmonella in reptiles can be challenging given the limitations among detection methods. We evaluated sampling and detection methods for S. enterica in a cross-sectional study of reptilian patients (n = 45) over the course of 13 mo. Two sampling methods (cloacal swabs, electrostatic cloth body-feet samples) and 3 detection methods (enriched culture, lateral flow immunoassay [LFI], real-time PCR) were compared using McNemar and Fisher exact tests. Results varied by species, sample type, and detection method. In total, 14 of 45 (33%) patients were positive by culture, 10 of 45 (22%), and/or 13 of 45 (29%) by rtPCR. Among rtPCR-positive results, cloacal swabs (12 of 45 [27%]) resulted in a higher detection than body-feet wipes (4 of 45 [9%]; p = 0.01). Among culture-positive results, shedding was most commonly detected after additional incubation at room temperature when testing cloacal swabs (9 of 45 [20%]). However, there was significant disagreement between sampling methods (cloacal vs. body-feet; p = 0.03). No samples were positive by LFI. In general, cloacal swabs yielded the highest test-positive rates, irrespective of testing method. Our study highlights the importance of using detection methods optimized for the sample being tested.

中文翻译：

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兽医教学医院爬虫类患者沙门氏菌脱落检测方法的比较。

在美国，每年约有140万例散发性人类沙门氏菌感染，估计有6％可归因于爬行动物。考虑到检测方法之间的局限性，在爬行动物中检测沙门氏菌可能具有挑战性。我们在13个月的过程中对爬行动物患者（n = 45）进行了横断面研究，评估了肠炎链球菌的采样和检测方法。使用McNemar和Fisher精确检验比较了两种采样方法（泄殖腔拭子，静电布人体脚部样品）和3种检测方法（富集培养，侧流免疫测定[LFI]，实时PCR）。结果因种类，样品类型和检测方法而异。总共有45名患者中有14名（33％）通过培养呈阳性，rtPCR的结果是45名中有10名（22％）和/或45名中有13名（29％）。在rtPCR阳性结果中，泄殖腔拭子（45个中的12个[27％]）比身体湿巾（45个中的4个[9％]； p = 0.01）要高。在培养阳性结果中，最常见的是在检测泄殖腔拭子时在室温下再孵育后检测到脱落（45个中的9个[20％]）。但是，采样方法之间存在显着分歧（泄殖腔vs.人体英尺； p = 0.03）。LFI没有样品呈阳性。通常，与测试方法无关，泄殖腔拭子的测试阳性率最高。我们的研究突出了使用针对被测样品优化的检测方法的重要性。采样方法之间存在显着分歧（泄殖腔与肢体英尺； p = 0.03）。LFI没有样品呈阳性。通常，与测试方法无关，泄殖腔拭子的测试阳性率最高。我们的研究突出了使用针对被测样品优化的检测方法的重要性。采样方法之间存在显着分歧（泄殖腔与肢体英尺； p = 0.03）。LFI没有样品呈阳性。通常，与测试方法无关，泄殖腔拭子的测试阳性率最高。我们的研究突出了使用针对被测样品优化的检测方法的重要性。