ISOLATION OF Salmonella spp. And Escherichia coli FROM THE ORAL AND CLOACAL SWAB OF BINOCELLATE COBRA (Naja naja)

Abstract

Bangladesh, being located in the humid tropical region is very rich in species diversity. There are about 90 species of snakes in Bangladesh among which only one fourth are venomous. The spectacled/binocellate cobras (Naja Naja) are one of the most important venomous endangered reptiles that occur in Bangladesh. The aim of the study was to isolate opportunistic Salmonella spp and E. coli that are harmful for both human and animal health and also seen the relationship of positive cases with the collected sample area, age of the snakes and gender. Total 26 samples of oral and cloacal swabs were taken from binocellate cobras (Naja Naja) reared by the snake charmer’s of Mymensingh and Sherpur district of Mymensingh division. Salmonella spp. were isolated from 10 (n=26) oral and 10 (n=26) cloacal samples but no E coli was detected from any samples. No significant variations were observed relating to bacterial isolation with area and gender group. But Significant variation was found among the oral and cloacal isolates (p=0.03) that are taken from more than 3 years of old snakes. To the author’s knowledge this is the first survey of oral cavity and cloacal microflora of binocellate cobras in Bangladesh.