Characterization of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) from imported food products

• Several β-lactam resistant non-typoidal Salmonella strains were isolated and characterized from imported food products
• Five out of the 9 extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) producing Salmonella isolates harbored plasmids.
• Conjugation data suggest that ESBL resistance genes were located on transferable plasmid
• Imported food products contaminated by β-lactam resistant NTS strains with conjugative plasmid-borne ESBL genes may contribute to the spread of ESBL-producing NTS

Food contaminated with extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Salmonella enterica has emerged as an important global issue due to the international food-product trade. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether imported food products can serve as a reservoir for non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) that can transmit β-lactam-resistance to humans through ingestion of the contaminated food. NTS isolates (n = 110) were collected from various imported food products (n = 3480) from 2011 to 2013. The NTS isolates were analyzed by serotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility tests, and plasmid profiling. Salmonella ser. Weltevreden, Salmonella ser. Newport, Salmonella ser. Senftenberg, Salmonella ser. Virchow, Salmonella ser. Enteritidis, Salmonella ser. Typhimurium, and Salmonella ser. Bareilly were the most prevalent serovars. Nine NTS strains were resistant to ampicillin and/or one or more cephalosporins (MIC > 32 μg/mL). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection revealed that all nine isolates carried the blaTEM-1 β-lactamase gene, with or without the blaCTX-M-9 or blaOXA-1 genes. Two isolates, PSS_913 and PSS_988, exhibited decreased susceptibility to extended-spectrum cephalosporins and ampicillin. Plasmids ranging in size from less than 8 to over 165 kbp, from all of the 9 resistant isolates, belonged to the IncHI1, IncI1, IncN, or IncX groups. Conjugation experiments and Southern hybridization, using blaTEM-1, confirmed the plasmid-mediated transfer of ESBL genes, which resulted in increased MICs of β-lactams for Escherichia coli transconjugants. The contamination of imported food products by NTS with conjugative plasmid-borne ESBL genes may contribute to the spread of ESBL-producing NTS and compromise the therapeutic activity of extended-spectrum β-lactam antibiotics.