An Extremely Rare Serovar of Salmonella Enterica (Yopougon) Discovered in a Western Whip Snake (Hierophis Viridiflavus) From Montecristo Island, Italy: Case Report and Review

Abstract

Abstract Reptiles, including snakes, can be asymptomatically infected with multiple pathogen microorganisms, including Salmonella spp., which is considered an important concern for public and animal health. Small and uninhabited isles are quite ecologically different from mainland and represent interesting fields of study, in order to discover unexpected biological and microbiological aspects of their wild inhabitants. This work reports the presence of a very rare Salmonella enterica serotype, Yopougon, isolated in a carcass of a native wild snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) from an Italian uninhabited island of Mediterranean Sea, Montecristo. To our knowledge, S. enterica serotype Yopougon was previously isolated only once thirty-four years earlier in Ivory Coast, from a human fecal sample. Here, we present the genomic characterization of the new isolate, the phylogenetic comparison with the previously isolated S. enterica serotype Yopougon strain of human origin and with other sequences available in public databases. In addition, an extensive review of available data in the literature and from our case history is provided. Our finding represents an example of the ability of some pathogens to travel for very long distances within their hosts and then to infect others, even from different taxa.