The prevalence of Salmonella infections in camels (Camelus dromedarius) in the United Arab Emirates.

One hundred and eighty-seven salmonella strains were isolated from 4006 samples collected from camels in the United Arab Emirates between 1987 and 1991. One hundred and sixty-five (4.3%) strains were isolated from 3801 faecal and 22 from 205 organ samples of 62 autopsied camels. In total, 28 different serotypes were identified with S. saintpaul being the most frequent (69), followed by S. frintrop (31) and S. hindmarsh (15). Salmonella typhimurium was isolated from only two faecal specimens. All salmonellas isolated from faecal samples originated from carrier camels, and those isolated from organs were secondary findings. The camels from which salmonella organisms were found died from diseases other than salmonellosis. Most of the S. saintpaul isolates originated from one herd suffering from Clostridium perfringens type A enterotoxaemia which suggests that salmonella infections may predispose camels to clostridial enterotoxaemias.