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Prevalence, antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes of Salmonella serovars isolated from humans and animals

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Abstract

We investigated the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility, antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes of Salmonella isolates recovered from humans and different species of animals. Out of 1231 samples, 88 (7.15%) Salmonella isolates were obtained, among which 21 (23.86%) belonged to Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica sero var. Weltevreden, 22 (25%) to S. Enteritidis, 16 (18.2%) to S. Typhi and 14 (15.9%) to S. Newport; 7 (7.95%) isolates were untypable. Among the 88 isolates, 65.90% showed resistance to gentamicin, 61.36% to tetracycline, 61.18% to cefotaxime, 48.86% to trimethoprim, 45.45% to ampicillin, 11.36% to ceftriaxone, 10.22% to chloramphenicol and 7.95% each to ciprofloxacin and cefepime. Most of the isolates were susceptible, with a low MIC (≤ 0.25 μg/ml) value, to cefepime, cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone and co-trimoxazole and with a moderate MIC (0.5–4 μg/ml) to ampicillin, tetracycline, gentamicin and chloramphenicol. The resistance genes blaTEM, tetA and dfrA12 were most prevalent, irrespective of the host of origin of the isolates. While invA was used for molecular detection of Salmonella, other virulence genes, viz. sipA, sipB, sipC, stn and pagN, were also detected in all Salmonella isolates. A total of 38.64% isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR), and various virulence genes were present among the isolated serovars. This study highlights the importance of continuous monitoring and surveillance for pathogenic Salmonella and their potential risks to both humans and animals.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt of India for their financial support to conduct the entire research work.

Funding

The study was funded by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt of India, Grant no. BT/375/NE/TBP/2012.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Guwahati, Assam, 781022, India

    Probodh Borah, Rupam Dutta, Leena Das, Girin Hazarika, Md Iftikar Hussain & Luit Moni Barkalita

  2. Advanced State Level Biotech Hub, College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Guwahati, Assam, 781022, India

    Probodh Borah, Mridusmita Choudhury, Naba Kumar Deka & Dipika Malakar

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  1. Probodh Borah
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Contributions

Conceptualization-Probodh Borah; Methodology, Formal Analysis and investigation: Rupam Dutta, Iftikar Hussain, Naba Kumar Deka, Leena Das, Mridusmita Choudhury; Writing – original draft preparation: Naba Kumar Deka, Dipika Malakar, Girin Hazarika; Writing – review and editing: Luit Moni Barkalita, Probodh Borah, Rupam Dutta; Funding acquisition, Resources and Supervision: Probodh Borah.

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Ethics approval

For collecting fecal and swab samples from different sources, informed consent was taken from the individuals/owners of the animals. Tissue samples were collected from dead animals by taking consent from the concerned authority conducting postmortem examination. The ethical approval for the entire work was obtained vide Approval No. 770/ac/CPCSEA/FVSc/AAU/IAEC/16–17/388.

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Necessary consent from the concerned authority of each farm and/or individual was taken before collecting the samples.

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Borah, P., Dutta, R., Das, L. et al. Prevalence, antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes of Salmonella serovars isolated from humans and animals. Vet Res Commun 46, 799–810 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-022-09900-z

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