Epidemiologic aspects of salmonellosis in reptiles, amphibians, mollusks and crustaceans--a review.

Salmonellae have been found associated with all of the poikilothermic vertebrate species studied, as well as the mollusks and crustaceans. Some of these animals have been incriminated in the transmission of salmonellosis to other higher vertebrates or to man, but in many cases they remain as only potential sources of the disease because of inadequate epidemiologic study. It would appear that they are important unrecognized reservoirs of the Salmonella organism in nature. With the increasing worldwise emphasis on aquaculture as a source of food, the role these animals play in the maintenance or transmission of salmonellosis in the aquatic environment needs further study. The epidemiologic investigation of sporadic outbreaks of salmonellosis might well take into consideration some of the common household and backyard pests--flies, ants, cockroaches, lizards (geckos), toads, and snails.