Invasive mammals can be important reservoirs for human pathogens. A recent study showed that 12% of mongooses carried Salmonella spp. in their large intestines. We investigated whether anthropogenic, environmental and climatic variables predicted Salmonella status in mongooses (Herpestes auropunctatus) in Grenada. Using multivariate logistic regression and contingency table analysis, we found that increased human density, decreased distance from roads, and low monthly precipitation were associated with increased probability of Salmonella carriage. Areas with higher human density likely support a higher abundance of mongooses because of greater food availability. These areas also are a likely source for infection to mongooses due to high densities of livestock and rodents shedding Salmonella. The higher probability of Salmonella carriage in mongooses during drier months and closer to roadsides is likely due to water drainage patterns and limited water availability. Although the overall prevalence of Salmonella in mongooses was moderate, the strong patterns of ecologic correlates, combined with the high density of mongooses throughout Grenada suggest that the small Indian mongoose could be a useful sentinel for Salmonella surveillance. Its affinity for human-associated habitats suggests that the small Indian mongoose is also a risk factor in the maintenance and possible spread of Salmonella species to humans and livestock in Grenada.

Over a 2-year period 66 cases of canine pyoderma in Grenada, West Indies, were examined by aerobic culture in order to ascertain the bacteria involved and their antimicrobial resistance patterns. Of the 116 total bacterial isolates obtained, the majority belonged to Gram-positive species, and the most common organism identified through biochemical and molecular methods wasStaphylococcus pseudintermedius. Additionally, identification of aStaphylococcus schleiferisubspeciescoagulansisolate was confirmed by molecular methods. All isolates of staphylococci were susceptible to beta-lactam drugs: amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefovecin, cefoxitin, cefpodoxime, and cephalothin. They were also susceptible to chloramphenicol and enrofloxacin. Resistance was highest to tetracycline. Methicillin resistance was not detected in any isolate ofS. pseudintermediusor inS. schleiferi. Among the Gram-negative bacteria, the most common species wasKlebsiella pneumoniae, followed byAcinetobacter baumannii/calcoaceticus. The only drug to which all Gram-negative isolates were susceptible was enrofloxacin. This report is the first to confirm the presence ofS. pseudintermediusandS. schleiferisubspeciescoagulans, in dogs with pyoderma in Grenada, and the susceptibility of staphylococcal isolates to the majority of beta-lactam drugs used in veterinary practice.