2022 journal article
Genomics of human and chicken Salmonella isolates in Senegal: Broilers as a source of antimicrobial resistance and potentially invasive nontyphoidal salmonellosis infections
PLOS ONE, 17(3).
Salmonella entericais the most common foodborne pathogen worldwide. It causes two types of diseases, a self-limiting gastroenteritis and an invasive, more threatening, infection.Salmonellagastroenteritis is caused by several serotypes and is common worldwide. In contrast, invasive salmonellosis is rare in high-income countries (HIC) while frequent in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), especially in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA). Invasive NontyphoidalSalmonella(iNTS), corresponding to serotypes other than Typhi and Paratyphi, have emerged in sSA and pose a significant risk to public health. We conducted a whole-genome sequence (WGS) analysis of 72 strains ofSalmonellaisolated from diarrheic human patients and chicken meat sold in multipurpose markets in Dakar, Senegal. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing combined with WGS data analysis revealed frequent resistance to fluoroquinolones and the sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim combination that are among the most used treatments for invasiveSalmonella. In contrast, resistance to the historical first-line drugs chloramphenicol and ampicillin, and to cephalosporins was rare. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was lower in clinical isolates compared to chicken strains pointing to the concern posed by the excessive use of antimicrobials in farming. Phylogenetic analysis suggested possible transmission of the emerging multidrug resistant (MDR) Kentucky ST198 and serotype Schwarzengrund from chicken to human. These results stress the need for active surveillance ofSalmonellaand AMR in order to address invasive salmonellosis caused by nontyphoidalSalmonellastrains and other important bacterial diseases in sSA.