Apparent seroprevalence of Salmonella spp. in harp seals in the Greenland Sea as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

An indirect ELISA was developed as a possible tool for surveillance of the seroprevalence of Salmonella spp. in harp seals. This species is hunted for human consumption and thus transmission of disease to humans cannot be excluded. To cover a broad spectrum of serogroups, a mixture of the lipopolysaccharides (LPS) of S. typhimurium and S. choleraesuis was used as the antigen in this pilot study. Chicken anti-harp-seal immunoglobulin horseradish peroxidase conjugate served as the immunoconjugate. Sera from four captive harp seals, which were Salmonella culture-negative and had no clinical or historical evidence of salmonellosis, were used as negative controls. After immunization with an inactivated S. typhimurium vaccine, further sera from these seals were used as positive controls, as no serum from naturally infected animals was available. Serum samples from 93 harp seals caught in the Greenland sea in 1999 were examined, and anti-Salmonella antibodies were found in the samples from two individuals (seroprevalence 2.2%). Although Salmonella has been isolated from other pinniped species, this is the first documentation of Salmonella-seropositive harp seals. This study contributes to the evaluation of the importance of salmonellosis in arctic marine mammals and thus to the prevention of potential outbreaks of this important zoonosis.