Antimicrobial Resistance and Plasmid Profiles of Salmonella enterica Serovars from Different Sources in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Salmonella enterica Serovars remains one of the leading pathogens that cause diarrhoea and bloodstream infections in developing countries. The emergence of multidrug resistant (MDR) Salmonella has become a serious problem globally. This study investigated the antibiotic resistance and plasmid profiles of Salmonella isolates from different sources. Methods: Seventy-three samples comprised of clinical (30), hand swab (15), food (10) and water (18) were analyzed bacteriologically. Salmonella isolates were identified and characterized by standard procedures. Isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing and were further screened for plasmid DNA by standard methods. Results: A total of 27 Salmonella isolates made up of 5 (18.5%) S. typhi, 6 (22.2%) S. enteritidis, 9 (33.3) S. typhimurium, 5 (18.5%) S. cholerasuis, and 1 (3.7%) each of S. arizonae and S. vichow were obtained in this study. All the isolates developed resistance to three or more antibiotics evaluated. Four distinct resistance profiles: TetAmpCol, TetAmpColCot, TetAmpColCip and TetAmpColCotCip were recorded with 63% of the isolates exhibiting resistance profile TetAmpColCot. Specifically 23 of 27 (85.2%) of the isolates harboured plasmid DNA comprised of 12 distinct plasmid profiles of different sizes ranging from 3.2 kb to 30.2 kb. Salmonella isolates of the same species from different sources differed in plasmid profile. Plasmid profile was found to show good discriminatory capability compared to antibiotics resistance profile. Conclusion: This study revealed that both resistance antibiogram and plasmid profile are still viable epidemiological tools for tracing the source of Salmonella isolates. A need for prudent use of antibiotics is suggested.