Molecular epidemiology and population genetics of Salmonella subspecies diarizonae in sheep in Norway and Sweden

Abstract

Fifty-four isolates of Salmonella enterica subsp. diarizonae (IIIb) in Norway, Sweden, England, the United States, France and Australia were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). This study focuses on serovar 61:k:1,5,(7) [S. IIIb 61:k:1,5,(7)] isolated from sheep. Digestion of the bacterial DNA with restriction enzyme XbaI yielded 15 distinct PFGE profiles comprising 12-16 fragments in the range 48.5-630.5 kbp. Four different profiles were identified in Norwegian sheep isolates and a single profile in Swedish isolates. The spatial and temporal distribution of profiles is discussed. © 2003 Cambridge University Press.