[Epidemiologic studies of the occurrence of Salmonella heidelberg in the Leipzig area].

This paper reports on observations regarding the appearance of Salmonella heidelberg (S. heidelberg) in the Leipzig district. Included are all isolations of S. heidelberg from 1985 to 1989 in human and veterinary materials as well as surface water and sewage. Our results show that this serovar--originating in a poultry farm--is spreading quickly among the animal stock of the northern part of the former Leipzig district. Parallel to that, S. heidelberg infections in the population increase strongly, with territorial differences. Besides partially very severe clinical findings, the incidence of human germ excretors is very high. Temporal and local parallels to the spreading of the serovar in animal and man are also seen in the surface water and sewage samples. The epidemiological observations and the possible routes and modes of transmission of S. heidelberg are discussed.