Isolation of Salmonella from Iranian broiler breeder farms and feed

Contamination of poultry by salmonella spp. is an important issue both in the field of public health as well as in the poultry industry and poultry have a significant role in transmission and incidence of human salmonellosis. The aim of the present study was isolation and identification of Salmonella spp. in Iranian broiler breeder farms and their feed. Samples from Sixty two broiler breeder farms and their feed from 21 states of Iran were collected during one year. All samples were cultured in different conventional media, including pre-enrichment, enrichment, selective plating and 18 Salmonella isolates were identified. Salmonella identification was confirmed by multiplex PCR and 12 isolates were confirmed. Out of positive samples, seven samples (58.33%) were Salmonella enteritidis in Ghazvin, Mazandaran and Markazi provinces, three samples (25%) were Salmonella infantis in Kordestan and southern Khorasan provinces, and two samples (16.6%) were Salmonella typhimurium in Fars and Lorestan provinces. All feed samples were negative. The results of this study showed that some breeder farms in Iran are contaminated with Salmonella and the most prominent Salmonella inbroiler breeder farms are Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella infantis, and Salmonella typhimurium respectively.