Antimicrobial resistance and virulence-associated genes of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotypes Muenster, Florian, Omuna, and Noya strains isolated from clinically diarrheic humans in Egypt

Four serotypes recovered from clinically diarrheic human faecal samples (Salmonella Muenster, Salmonella Florian, Salmonella Omuna and Salmonella Noya) were investigated for the presence of 11 virulence genes (invA, avrA, ssaQ, mgtC, siiD, sopB, gipA, sodC1, sopE1, spvC, and bcfC) and their association with antibiotic resistance. The 4 Salmonella serotypes lacked virulence genes gipA and spvC. Resistance to 7 of the 14 antimicrobials was detected. The frequency of resistance, to lincomycin and streptomycin (100% of the Salmonella Muenster [2/5], Salmonella Florian [1/5], Salmonella Omuna [1/5], and Salmonella Noya [1/5] isolates), chloramphenicol (100% of the Salmonella Muenster [2/5] and Salmonella Florian [1/5] isolates) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (100% of the Salmonella Florian [1/5] and Salmonella Omuna [1/5] isolates) was an outstanding feature. With the rest of the antibiotics, the four Salmonella serotypes exhibited a great diversity in their resistance patterns. Overall, the four Salmonella serotypes were resistant to more than one antimicrobial. The antimicrobials to which the Salmonella Muenster, Salmonella Florian, and Salmonella Omuna isolates were resistant, contributed to five different antimicrobial resistance profiles. The virulence associated genes invA, ssaQ, siiD, sopB, and bcfC genes were 100% associated with certain antimicrobial resistance phenotypes (streptomycin and lincosamide) not recorded previously, and secondly, the presence of invA, avrA, ssaQ, mgtC, siiD, sopB, and bcfC was associated with resistance to chloramphenicol. The results of this study will help in understanding the spread of virulence genotypes and antibiotic resistance in Salmonella in the region of study.