Prevalence and rapid identification of Salmonella Infantis in broiler production in Turkey

In the present study, the prevalence of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Infantis (S. Infantis) and other serovars were investigated in samples collected from commercial broiler chicken flocks in Turkey according to the ISO 6579:2002/Amd 1:2007, Annex D, standard method. Furthermore, previously developed S. Infantis-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods with primers targeting fljB, fliC, IMP1-IMP2-IMP3 and sinI were conducted in different media (BPW, MRSV, MKTTN, XLD, and XLT4 agars) and during four incubation stages (6, 12, 18, and 24 h) of the ISO 6579 procedure to develop rapid and reliable diagnosis method. One-hundred thirty-three (15.6%) Salmonella strains were isolated from a total of 848 samples (240 cecal swabs, 200 cloacal swabs, 190 intestinal contents, 59 feed, 39 dust, and 120 litter). The serovar distribution of isolated strains was as follows: S. Infantis, 88.70%; S. Agona, 2.3%; S. Kentucky 1.50, S. Hadar 1.50, and S. Tennessee 1.50; S. Mbandaka 0.75 %, S. Montevideo 0.75 %, S. Enteritidis 0.75 %, S. Adelaide 0.75 %, S. Liverpool 0.75 %, and S. Derby 0.75 %. Primers targeting fljB, fliC, and IMP1-IMP2-IMP3 were not able to detect all S. Infantis isolates, therefore, a novel PCR technique was developed and validated in the study. It was concluded that it is a fast, reproducible and low-cost alternative to the gold standard method by detecting the S. Infantis isolates on the 3rd day at the earliest by PCR (sinI PCR). using primers specific to S. Infantis species.