Salmonella enterica serovar Dublin infection in dairy cattle: a case study on the management of an outbreak in Italy

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Dublin (S. Dublin), is a serovar adapted to cattle, causing both intestinal and systemic infections. The introduction of the bacterium leads to serious economic losses due to abortions, high mortality in calves and per-sistent infections, also representing a major health problem as zoonotic agent. The aim of this study was to describe an outbreak of S. Dublin on an Italian dairy cattle farm and to assess the effectiveness of the management protocol prepared by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe). S. Dublin was diagnosed on a cattle farm in Northeastern Italy following the conferral at the IZSVe of a newborn calf that died from enteric syndrome. At the autoptic exam pathological findings were observed in gut, liver, pericardium, lungs, joints, lymph nodes and abomasum. Considering the pathogenesis of S. Dublin, authors decided to apply a protocol prepared by the IZSVe based both on direct and indirect prophylaxis. P...