Epidemiological studies of human and animal Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 and DT104b isolated in Ireland

Abstract

A total of 122 human and animal Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 isolates and 6 epidemiologically related DT104b isolates from human and animal products were analysed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Genomic DNA was subjected to macrorestriction with three enzymes, SpeI, SfiI and XbaI. A total of 14 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) profiles were identified when the PFGE patterns from the three enzymes were combined. The majority of isolates (81·2%) exhibited the same RFLP profile. Six animal DT104 isolates, susceptible to enrofloxacin and resistant to naladixic acid, were identified from the antibiotic susceptibility test. Four of these isolates had a different PFGE profile from the common RFLP. In addition, 4 of the 6 isolates were geographically clustered in one region. It was concluded that there was one predominant strain of S. Typhimurium DT104 in Ireland and that the potential and selection pressures for emergence of fluoroquinolone-resistant isolates were present.