Prevalence of Salmonella

in marketed Penaeus monodon shrimps

in North Western Province, Sri Lanka
K. Ubeyratne a, J. Kleer b, G. Hildebrandt b, R. Fries b, R. Khattiya c, P. Padungtod c, M.P. O.
Baumann b, K.-H. Zessin b Veterinary Research Institute, Gannoruwa, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
a

b
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
c
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Summary
The examination of a total of 180 samples from both captured and cultured shrimps from Sri Lanka for the
presence of Salmonella revealed an overall prevalence of 12.8 %. The prevalence of Salmonella in captured
shrimps and cultured shrimps was 14.4 % and 11.1 % respectively, but the difference was not statistically
significant (p=0.66). The serovar most frequently isolated was S. Newport (47.8 % of the isolates), followed by
S. Weltevreden (8.7 %).

Material and Methods

Sampling
The sample size of 180 shrimp samples (90 of shrimps cultured in farms, 90 of shrimps captured from lagoons) was de-
termined based on a Salmonella prevalence of 12.5 % found in Karnataka coast of India (Bhaskar et al., 1995), on an error
level of 5% and at a confidence interval of 95%. Two whole raw shrimps were collected from conveniently selected retail
sale locations of Puttalam and Kurunegala districts from November 2006 to March 2007.

Penaeus monodon
shrimp farm lagoon

Isolation of Salmonella
was conducted utilizing the conventional methods for the detection of Salmonella following ISO 6579 (2002) standard
guidelines (Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Horizontal method for the detection of Salmonella spp.).

Results and Discussion

Overall prevalence of Salmonella in shrimps
The overall prevalence of Salmonella in marketed Penaeus monodon shrimps in North Western Province (Tab. 1) was
12.8 %; from farm cultures and from lagoon captures 11.1 % and 14.4 %, respectively, a difference which is not
statistically significant (p = 0.66).
The prevalence of Salmonella in shrimps from retail markets in Hyderabad, India was 11 % (Jonnalagadda and Bhat,
2004). Arumugaswamy et al. (1995) observed a prevalence of Salmonella in raw prawns in Malaysia of 25 %.
Tab. 1: Prevalence of Salmonella in marketed shrimps
Location Type of No. of No. of Prevalence [%]
shrimps samples positives (95 % CI*)

Puttalam 120 16 13.3 (8.05 - 21.04)

Capture 60 9 15.0 (7.50 - 27.08)
Culture 60 7 11.7 (5.21 - 23.18)
Kurunegala 60 7 11.7 (5.21 - 23.18)
Puttalam
Capture 30 4 13.3 (4.36 - 31.64)
Kurunegala
Culture 30 3 10.0 (2.62 - 27.68)
North Western Province 180 23 12.8 (8.44 - 18.76)
(Puttalam +
Kurunegala)
Capture 90 13 14.4 (8.22 - 23.80)
Culture 90 10 11.1 (5.75 - 19.92)

* Confidence Interval

Salmonella serovars in shrimps

From the 23 strains found in this study, 10 originated from cultured and 13 from captured shrimps. Most of the isolated
strains belonged to serogroups C, E and B.
S. Newport was the serovar most frequently found (47.8 %) followed by S. Weltevreden 8.7 %. Seven out of 10 “culture
strains” (70 %), and 4 out of 13 “capture strains” (30.8 %) belonged to S. Newport.
S. Weltevreden is reported to be the predominant Salmonella serovar occurring in shrimp farms in South East Asia (Reilly
& Twiddy, 1992) and in seafood in general (Shabarinath et al., 2007). Other important serovars in seafood are S.
Newport, S. Senftenberg, and S. Lexington (Heinitz et al., 2000). In India, S. Typhimurium, S. Newport, S. Weltevreden, S.
Saintpaul and S. Enteritidis were the major Salmonella serovars in fish and other seafood (Singh, 2007).

ür Lebensmittelhygiene, Fachbereich Veterinärmedizin, Freie Universität Berlin, Königsweg 69, D-14163 Berlin kleer.jn@vetmed.fu-berlin.de 0