Faecal carriage of Listeria monocytogenes in stray dogs in Bursa province, Turkey

Abstract

The faecal carriage rate of Listeria monocytogenes in stray dogs in Bursa province, Turkey, was determined from 82 faecal samples by bacteriological methods. L. monocytogenes was isolated from only one (1.22%) of the samples examined. The isolate was serotyped as 1/2b. It was concluded that stray dogs could be a reservoir of the organism as well as a source of human listeriosis in Turkey. This is the first report on the isolation of L. monocytogenes from a dog in this country.