Characterization of antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium isolates from food animals in the U.S.

Salmonella enterica subspecies enteric serovar Typhimurium is the second most common serovar implicated in human diseases in the United States. In this study, 120 S. Typhimurium isolates from animal sources were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, antimicrobial resistance gene detection and plasmid analysis. Overall, 94 (78%) of the isolates were resistant to one or more antimicrobials and 63 (53%) were resistant to at least five antimicrobials. Resistance was most commonly observed to streptomycin (62%), sulfisoxazole (62%), or tetracycline (61%). When resistance was detected, a corresponding resistance gene was detected in 89% of cases. Class 1 integrons were detected in 51 isolates, all which contained the aadA2 gene. A plasmid Inc group was detected in 68 (57%) isolates. Thirty nine (57%) of these isolates were resistant to 5 or more antimicrobials.