APPLICATION OF POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION FOR THE CORRELATION OF SALMONELLA SEROVARS RECOVERED FROM GREYHOUND FECES WITH THEIR DIET

The polymerase chain reaction was employed to correlate Salmonella ser ovars isolated from fecal material of greyhounds suffering from gastro enteritis with those isolated from the diet fed to the greyhounds prio r to onset of diarrhea. Kennels around the Abilene, Kansas, area were contacted and supplied with Materials needed to collect a portion of t he diet each day. With the onset of diarrhea, the kennels were instruc ted to ship the fecal material and diet from the previous 10 days to t he laboratory for testing. Forty-one fecal samples and corresponding d iets were screened for Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, Campylobac ter jejuni, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus intermedius, and pat hogenic (piliated) Escherichia coli by direct culture using standard p rocedures. The fecal material was also screened for coronavirus and pa rvovirus using electron microscopy. Thirty-five ''normal'' fecal sampl es were screened for all of the above mentioned microorganisms as a co ntrol. In addition, the fecal material was screened for E. coli veroto xins I and II and clostridial enterotoxins. A total of 61 Salmonella i solates were recovered from the 41 samples of feces and diet submitted for testing; 31 were recovered from the feces and 30 from the diet. F our Salmonella isolates were recovered from the normal fecal samples. Results obtained by PCR, plasmid profiles, antigenic analysis, and ant ibiogram profiles indicated that 16 of the 31 isolates recovered from the fecal material were the same strain as that recovered from the die t.