Objective-To determine the diversity of Salmonella serotypes isolated from a large population of cull (market) dairy cows at slaughter.Design-Cross-sectional study.Sample Population-Salmonella organisms isolated from the cecal-colon contents of 5,087 market dairy cows,Procedure-During winter and summer 1996, cecal-colon contents of cull dairy cows at slaughter were obtained from 5 US slaughter establishments. Specimens were subjected to microbiologic culturing for Salmonella spp at 1 laboratory. Identified isolates were compared with Salmonella isolation lists published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) for approximately the same period. The Simpson diversity index was used to calculate the likelihood that Salmonella isolates selected randomly by establishment were different.Results-Of 58 Salmonella serotypes identified, Salmonella ser. Montevideo was the most prevalent. Two of the top 10 CDC serotypes identified from humans in 1996, Salmonella ser. Typhimurium and S Montevideo, appeared on our top 10 list; 8 of the top 10 were found on NVSL listings. Thirty-one of 59 S Typhimurium isolates were identified as DT104 and found at a west slaughter establishment, 30 during the winter and 1 during the summer. The greatest diversity of serotypes was at a southeast establishment during the summer; the least diversity was at a central establishment in the winter.Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-58 Salmonella serotypes were isolated from market dairy cows at slaughter and could pose a threat for food-borne illness. Salmonella Montevideo was the most frequently isolated serotype and may contribute substantially to salmonellosis in dairy cattle.

OBJECTIVETo determine the prevalence of Salmonella spp in the cecal-colon contents of cull (market) dairy cows at slaughter because of potential public health ramifications.DESIGNSurvey study.SAMPLE POPULATIONCecal-colon contents collected from 5,087 cull (market) dairy cows at slaughter at 5 slaughter establishments across the United States.PROCEDUREDuring 2 periods of the year, winter (January and February) and summer (July through September), 5 cull (market) cow slaughter establishments in the United States--west (WE), southeast (SEE), central (CE), north central (NCE), and south central (SCE)--establishments were visited, and cecal-colon contents of cull dairy cows were obtained at the time of slaughter. Samples were examined by microbiologic culture at a single laboratory for Salmonella spp.RESULTSSalmonella spp were detected in 23.1% of cecal-colon content samples from cull dairy cows across the 5 slaughter establishments. The highest site prevalence (54.5%) was detected at the WE during the summer period, whereas the lowest was found at the CE during the summer (4.3%) and at the NCE during the winter (4.5%). Considerable variation in the daily prevalence of Salmonella spp was found, particularly at the WE and the SCE. Salmonella spp were isolated from 93% of cecal-colon contents collected on a summer day at the WE.CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCEResults strongly suggest that there is a high prevalence of Salmonella spp in cull dairy cows at slaughter, which could burden Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point programs implemented in slaughter establishments. Procedures to reduce Salmonella load at the dairy farm and during transport to slaughter could reduce the risk of spread during the slaughter process.

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVArticleNEXTField intercomparison of five types of fog water collectorsSusanne V. Hering, Donald L. Blumenthal, Robert L. Brewer, Alan. Gertler, Michael. Hoffmann, John A. Kadlecek, and Keith. PettusCite this: Environ. Sci. Technol. 1987, 21, 7, 654–663Publication Date (Print):July 1, 1987Publication History Published online1 May 2002Published inissue 1 July 1987https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es00161a006https://doi.org/10.1021/es00161a006research-articleACS PublicationsRequest reuse permissionsArticle Views205Altmetric-Citations42LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail Other access optionsGet e-Alertsclose Get e-Alerts