Epidemiology and characterization of animal Salmonella enterica subspecies Enterica serotype typhimurium DT104 in Hungary.

Reports on the internationally emerging significance of multiresistant zoonotic Salmonella in animals and man prompted studies to estimate the significance of multiresistant Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serotype Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) phage type DT104 of animal origin in Hungary. A collection of 231 strains (primarily of goose, turkey, poultry and porcine origin from the years 1997-1998) was tested for resistance against 7 selected antibiotics (ampicillin, chloramphenicol, enrofloxacin, nalidixic acid, streptomycin, tetracycline and sulphamethoxazole). Strains with resistance against 3 or more were defined as multiresistant. All strains were phage typed using Felix-Callow's S. Typhimurium phage typing system, and 91 of them (suspect DT104) were also typed according to Anderson's definitive typing (DT) system. In this study, 14% of animal strains from 1997-1998 was classified as DT104, for which turkey, pig and duck seemed to be the main carriers, and the multiresistant non-DT104 strains represented a further 6% of this collection. The prevalence of DT104 was highest among strains of turkey origin (50%), followed by strains of pig (29%), chicken (25%), duck (19%), and goose (3%) origin. The other DT104 related phage types (DT12 and U302) were only detected in the case of 4 strains (2 of porcine, and one each of turkey and of goose origin). The DT104 corresponded to the Felix-Callow types 2/3 or 2c/3 in each case, except in the case of 3 turkey strains where they corresponded to type 35/3. Nalidixic acid resistance was detected in all multiresistant turkey strains and in some of other animal origin but none of these strains were resistant to enrofloxacin. A retrospective analysis (based on the above relationship) indicated that S. Typhimurium strains corresponding to DT104 could be present and increase in the Hungarian farm animal population from about 2% to 20% between 1985 and 1990, in a manner similar to the emergence of human DT104, as reported elsewhere (Pászti et al., 2000). The 91 suspect DT104 strains were also tested for plasmid profile and for spvC gene indicating the presence of the large serotype specific plasmid (Ssp). No characteristic plasmid profile could be attributed to S. Typhimurium DT104. The serovar-specific large plasmid was detected by PCR for spvC in 100% of DT104 strains and in 77% of the non-DT104 strains. The virulence of two DT104 strains was tested in orally infected day-old chicks and compared with virulence of 4 non-DT104 strains. Higher colonizing virulence of DT104 strains could be established as compared to the other strains.

Epidemiology of Salmonella derby strains isolated from swine, pork and pork products.

A total of 35 Salmonella derby strains, isolated from 6 types of samples of porcine origin from 9 different places in Hungary were examined for their characteristics. Thirty-two strains (91%) were of phage type 25, 2 (6%) of phage type 15 and 1 (3%) of phage type 58. Colicin production was observed in 3 (9%) strains. Five strains (14%) were found to be resistant to tetracycline (Tc). The strains harboured plasmids of 2.2, 2.4, 3.4, 4.2 and 72 Md. The 72 Md plasmid appears to be characteristic of S. derby and possibly encodes Tc resistance. The 72 Md plasmid belonged partly to incompatibility (Inc) group I1, while the other plasmid of the same size belonged to Inc. group B. The findings suggest that healthy salmonella carrier pigs carried the infection from the farm to the abattoir. Slaughtering of infected pigs may have led to contamination of the carcasses and, thereafter, that of the pork and pork products.