AUTHORS
Aline Parolin Calarga, Marco Tulio Pardini Gontijo, Luiz Gonzaga Paula de Almeida, Ana Tereza Ribeiro de Vasconcelos, Leandro Costa Nascimento, Taíse Marongio Cotrim de Moraes Barbosa, Thalita Mara de Carvalho Perri, Silvia Regina Dos Santos, Monique Ribeiro Tiba-Casas, Eneida Gonçalves Lemes Marques, Cleide Marques Ferreira, Marcelo Brocchi
ABSTRACT
Salmonella enterica causes Salmonellosis, an important infection in humans and other animals. The number of multidrug-resistant (MDR) phenotypes associated with Salmonella spp. isolates is increasing worldwide, causing public health concern. Here, we aim to characterize the antimicrobial-resistant phenotype of 789 non-typhoidal S. enterica strains isolated from human infections in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, along 20 years (2000-2019). Among the non-susceptible isolates, 31.55, 14.06, and 13.18% were resistant to aminoglycosides, tetracycline, and β-lactams, respectively. Moreover, 68 and 11 isolates were considered MDR and Extended Spectrum β-Lactamase (ESBL) producers, respectively, whereas one isolate was colistin-resistant. We selected four strains to obtain a draft of the Genome Sequence; one S. Infantis (ST32), one S. Enteritidis (ST11), one S. I 4,[5],12:i:- (ST19), and one S. Typhimurium (ST313). Among them, three presented at least one of the following antimicrobial resistance genes (AMR) linked to mobile DNA: blaTEM-1B, dfrA1, tetA, sul1, floR, aac(6′)-laa, and qnrE1. This is the first description of the plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) gene qnrE1 in a clinical isolate of S. I 4,[5],12:i:-. The S. Typhimurium is a colistin-resistant isolate, but did not harbor mcr genes, but it presented mutations within the mgrB, pmrB, and pmrC regions that might be linked to the colistin-resistant phenotype. The virulence pattern of the four isolates resembled the virulence pattern of the highly pathogenic S. Typhimurium UK-1 reference strain in assays involving the in vivo Galleria mellonella model. In conclusion, most isolates studied here are susceptible, but a small percentage present an MDR or ESBL-producer and pathogenic phenotype. Sequence analyses revealed plasmid-encoded AMR genes, such as β-lactam and fluoroquinolone resistance genes, indicating that these characteristics can be potentially disseminated among other bacterial strains.
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