Bla TEM -positive Salmonella enterica serovars Agona and Derby are prevalent among food-producing animals in Chongqing, China

• Published in: Frontiers in microbiology 2023, Vol.14, p.1011719
• Main Authors: Lai, Jiacui, Mu, Hao, Zhou, Bingqian, He, Jiawei, Cheng, Xiangning, Gan, Yujie, Zhao, Meiyuan, Xie, Mengqi, Zhang, Yang, He, Ying, Yang, Yujiao, Wang, Jian, Wang, Haoju, Ding, Honglei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1664-302X; 1664-302X

is one of the most important foodborne zoonotic pathogens, causing global morbidity and mortality in both humans and animals. Due to the extensive use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals, the antimicrobial resistance of has attracted increasing attention globally. There have been many reports concerning the antimicrobial resistance of from food-producing animals, meats and the environment. However, few studies on from food-producing animals have been reported in Chongqing municipality, China. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence, serovar diversity, sequence types, and antimicrobial resistance of isolated from livestock and poultry in Chongqing. Meanwhile, we also want to know the presence of β-lactamase genes, plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes and quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) mutations of isolates. A total of 129 strains were recovered from 2,500 fecal samples at 41 farms from pigs, goats, beef cattle, rabbits, chickens, and ducks. Fourteen serovars were identified, with Agona and Derby being the dominant serovars. The 129 isolates had high resistance to doxycycline (87.6%), ampicillin (80.6%), tetracycline (79.8%), trimethoprim (77.5%), florfenicol (76.7%) chloramphenicol (72.9%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (71.3%), but were susceptible to cefepime. A total of 114 (88.4%) isolates showed multidrug resistant phenotypes. The prevalence of β-lactamase genes in isolates was 89.9% (116/129), and among these isolates, 107 (82.9%) harbored , followed by (26, 20.2%), (8, 6.2%), and (3, 2.3%). In addition, , , , , , and were detected in 11, 2, 34, 34, 43, and 72 PMQR-producing isolates, respectively. Moreover, QRDR mutations were very common in PMQR-positive isolates (97.2%, 70/72) with mutation(s) in or combinative mutations in and . More significantly, 32 extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing isolates were identified, and 62.5% of them were found to harbor one to four PMQR genes. Furthermore, 11 sequence types were identified from the isolates, and most of ESBL-producing isolates were attributed to ST34 (15.6%) and ST40 (62.5%). The coexistence of PMQR genes with β-lactamase genes and the extensive mutations in QRDR present in isolates from food-producing animals suggest a potential threat to public health. Reasonable utilization and strict control strategies for antimicrobials in animal husbandry and animal treatment are necessary to reduce the emergence and dissemination of d