Prevalence of Salmonella in fish and crustaceans from markets in Coimbatore, South India

Seven hundred and thirty fishes and 276 crustaceans collected from various fish markets of Coimbatore, South India, over a period of 2 years (September 1990 to August 1992) were analysed for the prevalence of Salmonella. Fishes (14·25%) and 17·39% of crustaceans were found to be contaminated with Salmonella. Of the different fishes analysed, the highest incidence of Salmonella was seen in Scopelidae (28%) followed by Trachnidae (26·9%). Among crustaceans Portunus pelagicus (33·33%) showed the highest incidence followed by Scylla serrata (28·57%). A well-marked seasonal variation in the incidence pattern was observed in both fishes and crustaceans with a higher incidence during monsoon season followed by post-monsoon and pre-monsoon. The region of the body that showed frequent isolation was the alimentary canal in fishes (41·33%) and gills (35·06%) in crustaceans. Serotyping of the isolates revealed prevalence of Salmonella weltevreden, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi B, Salmonella mgulani and Salmonella typhimurium in both fishes and crustaceans. Salmonella senftenberg was isolated only from crustaceans