Abstract:
It is believed that Quail production is constantly facing threat of emerging bacterial diseases that can affect man. Hence, this study was conducted to isolate and identify zoonotic bacteria that might be associated with the rearing of Japanese quails. A total of thirty six experimental adult quail birds were bought from different farms situated in a humid tropical environment between December, 2013-October, 2014. Sections of the liver, lung, kidney samples as well as some segments of the intestine (ileum and caecum) of the experimental quail birds were aseptically collected and assessed for bacteria presence and prevalence after slaughtering and evisceration. The bacterial floras present in sections of organs as well as segment of intestine of the animal samples were analysed: Morphological tests, biochemical characterisations were protocols carried out to determine the bacterial presence and prevalence in the quail birds. The results revealed that 243 bacterial isolates were recorded from the different organs. Some of the isolates were E. coli with a high percentage of 29.6% (82 isolates), Corynebacterium spp. 11.93% (29 isolates), Staphylococcus aureus11.52% (28 isolates), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 10.70% (26 isolates), Enterococcus faecalis 7.41% (18 isolates), Salmonella spp. 7.00% (17 isolates), Klebsiella pneumoniae 6.58% (16 isolates), Bacillus spp. 5.76% (14 isolates), Proteus spp. 4.53% (11 isolates) Pasteurella multocida 0.82% (2 isolates). This study revealed that E. coli had the highest prevalence among the isolates and Pasteurella multocida lowest prevalence of the isolates in the internal organs of quail birds. It was shown that the prevalence of most bacterial isolates from different organs of Japanese quail at the different locations was higher (P<0.05) during raining season (periods A and B) and less during dry season (periods C and D). This research revealed that the gastrointestinal tract of quail birds Coturnix coturnix japonica reared in a humid tropical environment harbour a number of bacteria that are of public health importance (zoonotic).
Therefore, quail meat and its products are potential sources of zoonotic pathogens that can cause human diseases if not properly processed.
