Characterization of Multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Isolated from Swine Sources

A total of 28 Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium isolated from diseased pigs and swine carcasses between 2001 and 2003 were characterized by the antimicrobial resistance profiles, PCR for detection of S. Typhimurium DT104 and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) with the restriction enzyme XbaI. All but one isolate presented multidrug resistance (MDR) to more than two antibiotics tested. A total of 11 resistance profiles were observed, and two phenotypes, ST and ASSuTG, were the most common among them. Two isolates were found to be S. Typhimurium DT104 isolates by PCR, and their resistance profile did not show the DT104 typical resistance type ACSSuT, but ACSSuTGK instead. PFGE identified 11 banding patterns in dendrogram, and three main clusters (designated A to C) were represented. Interestingly, sixteen of 19S. Typhimurium isolates belonging to cluster B showed an identical band pattern.