Salmonella in sewage effluent and the relationship to animal and human disease in the north of Scotland

During the period July 1982 to December 1984, the presence of salmonella organisms was investigated at weekly intervals in the sewage system and abattoir effluent of a town in the north of Scotland. Three hundred and fifteen isolations, representing 37 different serotypes, were made which included 20 different Salmonella typhimurium phage types and four different S enteritidis phage types. Ten of the serotypes were isolated from livestock in the district during the survey as well as in the periods immediately before and after the survey. There were seven recorded incidents of human infection, involving four salmonella serotypes, only three of which were isolated concurrently from sewage.