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Background  Reptiles are known to be asymptomatic carriers of  Salmonella  spp. in their gastrointestinal mucosa and a variety of  Salmonella  serovars including exotic serovars mainly associated with reptiles as well as human pathogenic serovars have been isolated. There are many case reports of reptile-associated  Salmonella  infections worldwide, including one case in Norway in 2000. In August 2017, there was a legislative change in Norway that allowed more permissive reptile ownership and legalized the keeping of 19 different reptile species by private persons. There has been a concern that this new legislation will lead to an increase in reptile-associated salmonellosis in Norway, however knowledge is lacking on the occurrence of  Salmonella  spp. in Norwegian reptiles. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the prevalence of  Salmonella  spp. in captive reptile species in Norway, identify the serovars and evaluate their zoonotic potential. Thus, cloacal swabs were taken from 53 snakes, 15 lizards and 35 chelonians from three Norwegian zoos, and assessed for the presence of  Salmonella  spp. by culture, biochemical testing and serotyping.    Results  In total, 43% of the reptiles were shedding  Salmonella  spp., with a prevalence of 62%, 67% and 3% in snakes, lizards and chelonians, respectively. A total of 26 different serovars were found, including  Salmonella enterica  spp.  enterica  (40%) and  S. enterica  spp.  arizonae  (4%), both of which are considered to have a high zoonotic potential.  S. enterica  spp.  diarizonae, salamae  and  houtenae  were also identified, however these serovars are considered to have a lower zoonotic potential.    Conclusions  The current study demonstrates that captive Norwegian reptiles are carriers of potentially zoonotic  Salmonella  spp. Given the increasing popularity of reptiles as pets and the legislative change, reptile-associated salmonellosis could become an increasingly important public health concern in Norway. Adequate public information about the risk of  Salmonella  infection as well as preventive measures to avoid  Salmonella  transmission from reptiles to humans is needed. The risk of  Salmonella  infection is considered low when recommended precautions are taken and good hygiene exhibited.

Prevalence of Salmonella serovars isolated from reptiles in Norwegian zoos