Emergence of Salmonella enterica serovar Indiana and California isolates with concurrent resistance to cefotaxime, amikacin and ciprofloxacin from chickens in China

- Salmonella strains were recovered from chicken samples in 13 provinces of China.
- S. Indiana and S. California were the common serovars from chicken samples.
- Multidrug resistance was common observed in Indiana and California serovar.
- blaCTX-M-90 and blaCTX-M-79 were first detected in Indiana and California isolates.
- Indiana ST17 and California ST40 strains were disseminated in Sichuan province.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and characterization of Salmonella concerning the poultry industry in China. A total of 170 non-duplicate Salmonella isolates were recovered from the 1540 chicken samples. Among the Salmonella isolates from chickens, the predominant serovars were S. enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) (49/170, 28.8%), S. enterica serovar Indiana (S. Indiana) (37/170, 21.8%) and S. enterica serovar California (S. California) (34/170, 20.0%). High antimicrobial resistance was observed for ciprofloxacin (68.2%), amikacin (48.2%) and cefotaxime (44.7%). Of particular concerns were the 18 S. Indiana and 17 S. California isolates, which were concurrently resistant to cefotaxime, amikacin and ciprofloxacin. The blaCTX-M genes, 16S rRNA methylase genes (armA, rmtD or rmtC) and five plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) determinants (aac(6′)-Ib-cr, oqxAB, qnrB, qepA and qnrD) were identified in 18 S. Indiana and 17 S. California isolates. To clarify their genetic correlation, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) were further conducted. PFGE profiles showed that the majority of S. Indiana and S. California isolates were clonally unrelated with a standard cut-off of 85%. The results of MLST demonstrated that ST17 and ST40 were the most common ST types in S. Indiana and S. California isolates, respectively. Our findings indicated that the multiple antibiotic resistant S. Indiana and S. California isolates were widespread in chicken in China and might pose a potential threat to public health.