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Background: Salmonella are bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae with a wide host range. Infection in birds causes subclinical disease to mass mortality events. Wild birds may act as healthy carriers posing a hazard to livestock and humans. The present study investigated the occurrence of Salmonella in wild birds admitted to a rehabilitation centre in order to assess the exposure of the staff to this zoonotic pathogen. Methods: Faecal swabs of 552 avian patients (68 species) were collected over the course of 12 months. Each sample was propagated in enrichment broth and subsequently incubated on a RAPID'Salmonella plate. Salmonella isolates were serotyped, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed. Results: Six Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) and 1 S. Schleissheim were detected; all were pansusceptible to the antibiotics tested. Conclusion: Despite the low positive rate in the tested population, the authors recommend applying protective equipment and hygiene measures when handling wild birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A male common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) was found dead in a field in April 2019 in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, and was submitted to the Department for the Protection of Animals and the Environment of the cantonal police Zurich. Because the common kestrel is a protected species, the carcass was forwarded to the Department for Poultry and Rabbit Diseases, University of Zurich, for forensic examination. On necropsy, profuse internal haemorrhage without causal trauma was observed, leading to the suspicion of intoxication with an anticoagulant. Liver tissue samples were sent to the Institute of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy of the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany, for anticoagulant residue analysis, revealing an amount of 40.3 ng/g brodifacoum, a second‐generation anticoagulant rodenticide. Information from the finding site did not give any evidence of wilful poisoning, thus secondary rodenticide poisoning through intoxicated prey was determined as the cause of death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]