The role of animals as a source of antimicrobial resistant nontyphoidal Salmonella causing invasive and non-invasive human disease in Vietnam

Background Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) are associated with both diarrhea and bacteremia. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is common in NTS in low-middle income countries, but the major source(s) of AMR NTS in humans are not known. Here, we aimed to assess the role of animals as a source of AMR in human NTS infections in Vietnam. We retrospectively combined and analyzed 672 NTS human and animal isolates from four studies in southern Vietnam and compared serovars, sequence types (ST), and AMR profiles. We generated a population structure of circulating organisms and aimed to attribute sources of AMR in NTS causing invasive and noninvasive disease in humans using Bayesian multinomial mixture models. Results Among 672 NTS isolates, 148 (22%) originated from human blood, 211 (31%) from human stool, and 313 (47%) from animal stool. The distribution of serovars, STs, and AMR profiles differed among sources; serovars Enteritidis, Typhimurium, and Weltevreden were the most common in human blood, human stool, and animals, respectively. We identified an association between the source of NTS and AMR profile; the majority of AMR isolates were isolated from human blood (p
Highlights • The major source(s) of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) are unknown. • We analyzed 672 NTS isolates, 148 (41%) from human blood, 211 (59%) from human stool, and 136 (43%) from animal stool. • Enteritidis, Typhimurium, and Weltevreden were the common serovars in human blood, human stool, and animals, respectively. • The majority of AMR isolates were associated with human blood. • NTS from animals does explain the full extent of AMR in human NTS infections.