Salmonella Typhimurium in Hihi, New Zealand

zaki K. The detection of human sapovirus-es with universal and genogroup-specifi c primers.tection of human sapovirus by real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. the family caliciviridae (Norwalk virus and Sapporo virus) are the most prevalent cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks among infants in Japan. To the Editor: The recent fi nding of a previously unrecorded Salmonella strain in an endangered New Zealand passerine (the hihi, Notiomystis cincta; [1]) offers the rare opportunity to observe the initial arrival and pathology of an epizootic and to determine its population-level effect. Over 8 days in February 2006, 6 freshly dead hihi were discovered in a free-living island population. Pathologic fi ndings were similar: birds were in good body condition with substantial subcutaneous fat reserves and no gross lesions in the crop, indicating death from a highly pathogenic disease. Histopathologic examination showed septicemia and infl ammatory necrosis of organs, particularly the liver and spleen, typical of salmonellosis in birds (2). Micro-biologic examination of liver samples isolated heavy growths of the bacterium Salmonella enterica serotype Ty-phimurium DT195. During the same period, 3 more dead hihi were found, but they were too decomposed for postmortem examination. Hihi are nectar-feeders that declined to near extinction after Euro-pean colonization of New Zealand and survived on a single island refuge (Hauturu). Since 1980, 14 attempts have been made to reintroduce the species to 6 other sites, resulting in 3 new populations that persist with management. The S. Typhimurium DT195 outbreak occurred within a reintroduced population on Tiritiri Matangi Island. Management includes providing supplementary food (sugar water) diluted with local rain water; feeders are sterilized before each use. Because disease in hihi is closely monitored, the outbreak indicates that S. Typhimurium DT195 is a novel se-rotype for this species. During Decem-ber 2005, fecal screening of 18 broods (37 nestlings) from Tiritiri Matangi Island found no evidence of enteric pathogens; screenings in February and May 2005 (40 adult and juvenile birds) from Tiritiri Matangi Island similarly returned negative results. Screening in all hihi populations during 2004 also found no evidence of Salmonella infection (32 adults and juveniles at Tiritiri Matangi, 29 at Hauturu, and 27 at Kapiti), and a 15-year pathology database from 230 dead hihi collected across these populations and a captive breeding facility lists no salmonellosis cases (J.G. Ewen and M.R. Alley, un-pub. data). Documentation of the emergent stages of infectious disease in endangered species is rare (3,4). This bacterium strain …