prevalence of salmonella spp. in the quail egg interior contents: a provincial study

background: poultry products have been recognized as major sources of human gastrointestinal disease caused by salmonella spp. and several outbreaks have been reported where eggs were the source of human infection. objectives: this study was carried out to determine the prevalence of salmonella spp. in the quail egg interior contents from retail stores of semnan, iran and to characterize the isolated salmonella serovars via serotyping and multiplex pcr techniques. methods: 140 packages of quail eggs (each package containing 12 eggs) were collected from different batches during summer 2010 and tested for the presence of salmonella through conventional culture and serotyping methods. results: from these samples, s. enteritidis was detected in the egg contents of one package (0.71 %) out of 140 packages. this isolate was confirmed by multiplex pcr generated amplification products for a random sequence that is specific for the genus salmonella and spv and sefa genes. conclusions: according to our results, s. enteritidis is the most prevalent serotype of quail egg content contaminant in the semnan area of iran and the multiplex pcr method could be used as a reliable method of identifying salmonella serovars.