1. Traveller-associated high-level ciprofloxacin-resistant Salmonella enterica Serovar Kentucky in the Republic of Korea
- Author
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Soo Jin Kim, Hyun Ju Jeong, Jungsun Park, Jun-Young Kim, Eunkyung Shin, Kyu Jam Hwang, Ae Kyung Park, and Jeong-Hoon Chun
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Microbiology (medical) ,Serotype ,ST198 ,Salmonella ,030106 microbiology ,Immunology ,medicine.disease_cause ,Serogroup ,Microbiology ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Antibiotic resistance ,Ciprofloxacin ,Genomic island ,Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial ,Republic of Korea ,medicine ,Immunology and Allergy ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Phylogeny ,Genetics ,Travel ,Phylogenetic tree ,biology ,Salmonella enterica ,biology.organism_classification ,QR1-502 ,Multilocus sequence typing ,Salmonella enterica serovar Kentucky ,Travel-Related Illness ,medicine.drug ,Multilocus Sequence Typing - Abstract
Objective Salmonella enterica serotype Kentucky ST198 (S. Kentucky) is frequently associated with human infections and has been identified in travellers to North Africa, South Asia, Europe, and North America. The antimicrobial resistance of this serotype to multiple drugs, including ciprofloxacin (CIP), is a growing concern. However, little information is available regarding the occurrence and characterization of S. Kentucky in Korea. Methods To investigate the characteristics and possible origin of these infections, we characterized highly CIP-resistant S. Kentucky isolates collected through a national surveillance program. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified by whole-genome sequencing (WGS), and genome sequencing was performed to investigate the genetic relationships and resistance mechanisms of the isolates. Results Ten CIP-resistant S. Kentucky strains were isolated from diarrheal patients in Korea from 2008 to 2017. The travel histories of the patients indicated that seven had returned from Southeast Asia. WGS of all the isolates revealed the presence of Salmonella genomic island 1 (SGI1) and substitutions in the gyrA and parC genes, which are known to confer resistance to CIP. A multilocus sequence type (MLST) analysis revealed that the isolates belonged to ST198, which has been prevalent in Europe and Africa. Furthermore, a phylogenetic analysis showed that all 10 isolates shared close genetic relationships. Conclusions We report the identification of S. Kentucky in Korea through long-term surveillance. International travel, especially to Southeast Asia, has been a major risk factor for human infections of CIP-resistant S. Kentucky in Korea.
- Published
- 2020