Faecal bacteria of wild ruminants and the alpine marmot

Faecal samples from 60 red deer (Cervus elaphus), 13 roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), 7 chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra), 41 alpine marmot (Marmota marmota) and soils mixed with deer faeces from the Stelvio National Park were examined forCampylobacter sp. andSalmonella sp. with negative results.The same material, especially deer faeces, was a habitat highly suitable forYersinia sp.:Y. enterocolitica (two biotypes) was isolated twice,Y. kristen-senii (two serotypes) was isolated 19 times,Y. frederiksenii andY. intermedia were isolated once.Antibiotic-resistantEscherichia coli were isolated from 16 specimens from wild ruminants, one from marmot and two from feeding places.This article was presented as a paper at the 8th International Symposium Enteric Infections and their Control of the World Association of Veterinary Microbiologists, Immunologists and Specialists in Infectious Diseases (Perth, Western Australia, 20 August 1983).