Salmonella spp in Birds from Jamaica
Angel Alberto Justiz Vaillant *
Department of Para-Clinical Sciences, Pathology and Microbiology Unit, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.
Suzette Curtello
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Biochemistry Section, The University of the West Indies, Mona campus, Jamaica.
Patrick E. Akpaka
Department of Para-Clinical Sciences, Pathology and Microbiology Unit, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.
Monica P. Smikle
Department of Microbiology, University of the West Indies, Mona campus, Jamaica.
Hellen Asemota
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Biochemistry Section, The University of the West Indies, Mona campus, Jamaica.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present work was conducted to study the presence of Salmonella and its IgY antibodies in birds from Jamaica. The IgY fraction was isolated from the egg yolks of a variety of birds including chickens, quails, geese and pigeons by the chloroform-polyethylene glycol method. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to test for anti-Salmonella antibodies. High significant levels of antibodies were detected in three serovars and Salmonella species, namely Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella Montevideo and Salmonella Yeerongpilly. This preliminary study from Jamaica demonstrates the presence of high levels of anti-Salmonella antibodies that warrants further studies with larger number of samples, since there are large amounts of consumption of eggs from these bird species by the general population in the country.
Keywords: Salmonella, chicken, birds, Jamaica, chloroform-polyethylene glycol method, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)