Multidrug‐Resistant Outbreak‐Associated Salmonella Strains in Irrigation Water from the Metropolitan Region, Chile

• Published in: Zoonoses and public health 2017-06, Vol.64 (4), p.299-304
• Main Authors: Martínez, M. C., Retamal, P., Rojas‐Aedo, J. F., Fernández, J., Fernández, A., Lapierre, L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural Irrigation; Analytical methods; Animal husbandry; Animal population; Animals; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial resistance; Canals; Chile - epidemiology; Clinical isolates; Detection; Disease Outbreaks; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; Farming; Farms; Food contamination; Food contamination & poisoning; Foodborne diseases; Gel electrophoresis; Gels; Genes; Health risks; Humans; Irrigation; Irrigation canals; Irrigation water; Multidrug resistance; Multidrug resistant; Multidrug resistant organisms; Outbreaks; Public health; Rivers; Rural areas; Salmonella; Salmonella - drug effects; Salmonella - genetics; Salmonella - isolation & purification; Salmonella enterica; Salmonella Enteritidis; Salmonella Infantis; Salmonella Infections - epidemiology; Salmonella Infections - microbiology; Salmonella Typhimurium; Serotypes; Urban areas; Water Microbiology; Water pollution; Zoonoses
• ISSN: 1863-1959; 1863-2378
• DOI: 10.1111/zph.12311

Summary Salmonella enterica (S. enterica) is the main cause of foodborne diseases in the Chilean population. With the aim of characterizing the presence of S. enterica in bodies of water, samples from 40 sources were obtained, including rivers and irrigation canals used by agricultural farms in the most populated regions of Chile. As result, 35 S. enterica isolates belonging to several serotypes were detected, with the highest frequency represented by Typhimurium and Enteritidis. All strains showed phenotypic antimicrobial resistance, and most of them were multiresistant to critically important antimicrobials. In addition, the pulse‐field gel electrophoresis analysis using XbaI and BlnI endonucleases showed that seven Salmonella isolates belonging to serotypes Typhimurium, Enteritidis and Infantis had identical pulsotypes to outbreak‐associated clinical isolates detected in the Chilean population, suggesting a public health risk of water pollution in this region. Among sampling sites, the higher detection rates were observed in rural than urban and peri‐urban areas, suggesting that the animal husbandry might contribute for environmental dispersion of this pathogen. Future efforts should address the characterization of cause‐and‐effect relationship between water contamination and foodborne disease, including the implementation of surveillance programmes to tackle potential risks for both human and animal populations.