Microbiological assessment of freshly-shot wild boars meat in Lazio Region, Viterbo territory: a preliminary study

During the wild boars hunting season (2012-2013), 6508 adults were shot in Lazio Region, Viterbo territory. Out of the 6508, 393 subjects were sampled to be tested for the detection of Salmonella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica, E. coli VTEC and Trichinella spp. For this purpose, diaphragm and skeletal muscles samples were collected after the shooting, and tested at the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Lazio and Toscana laboratories, Rome, Italy. Samples were tested respectively by polymerase chain reaction, enzyme linked immunofluorescent assay, microbiological and parasitological assays. The positivity percentages are 3.6% for Salmonella spp., 14.8% (out of 230 samples tested) for Yersinia enterocolitica, 4.6% for E.coli VTEC (vtx 1 and 2 genes). Each positive sample for vtx 1 and 2 was tested to isolate Verotoxigenic E.coli strains; none of them was positive for the same virulence genes. All diaphragm samples were negative to the trichinoscopic test. Every bacterial strain was identified serologically by seroagglutination test.