The movement of humans and the spread of Salmonella into existing and pristine ecosystems

John B Iveson; S Donald Bradshaw; David W Smith

doi:10.1071/MA17070

RESEARCH ARTICLE

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The movement of humans and the spread of Salmonella into existing and pristine ecosystems

John B Iveson ^A , S Donald Bradshaw ^B and David W Smith ^A ^C ^D

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Department of Microbiology, PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA, Hospital Avenue, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia

^B Faculty of Science, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia

^C Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia

^D Email: david.smith@health.wa.gov.au

Microbiology Australia 38(4) 201-203 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA17070
Published: 2 November 2017

Abstract

The spread of infectious diseases by the international and national movement of people, animals, insects and products has a documented history dating back several centuries¹. The role of human movements has been fundamental to this, and has increased as global travel has risen in amount and speed. This has been exemplified by international epidemics of influenza, antimicrobial resistant bacteria, SARS coronavirus, dengue, chikungunya virus, Zika viruses and many others. Foodborne pathogens have also regularly come to our attention for their ability to move internationally, and outbreaks of salmonellosis due to importation of contaminated foods are well described²^,³. An extensive collection of non-typhoidal Salmonella and related species isolated from human, food, animal and environmental sources has been accumulated within Western Australia (WA) since the mid-20th century, and has proven an important historical source of information about the role of humans in the dissemination of microorganisms across and within diverse ecosystems⁴^–⁶. It is clear that the movement of microorganisms into and out of Australia is by no means a new phenomenon, and that humans have been important contributors to that spread. These are important markers of our impact on established and pristine ecosystems.

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