[Diversity of human Salmonella isolates in the South Moravian Region in 2009-2012].

STUDY

OBJECTIVE

To characterize the diversity of human Salmonella isolates from one of the administrative regions of the Czech Republic in a time horizon of four years using different typing methods.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

The following phenotyping methods were used: serotyping, phage typing, and the disk diffusion method for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Genotyping was performed using DNA macrorestriction analysis resolved by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).

RESULTS

The most common serotypes involved in human cases of salmonellosis in the South Moravian Region were Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Typhimurium, and monophasic Salmonella 4,[5],12:i:-. Phage typing revealed the predominance of phage type 8 in S. Enteritidis and changes in phage types of S. Typhimurium over years. The resistance levels in S. Typhimurium, monophasic Salmonella, and some other serotypes give increasing cause for concern about multidrug resistant strains as human pathogens. The study isolates were assigned to the complexes implicated in both local and international outbreaks. Isolates of serotype 9,12:l,v:- were identified for the first time in the Czech Republic.

CONCLUSIONS

The diversity of the study isolates from 2009-2012 collected in the South Moravian Region suggests a high heterogeneity of the sources of human salmonellosis. However, the detection of several cases likely to be epidemiologically linked points out the need for careful typing of human isolates and their comparison with the strains of non-human origin. Higher resistance levels in some serotypes is behind the need for the surveillance of multidrug resistant strains.