Distribution and Antimicrobial Resistance of Salmonella Isolated from Pigs with Diarrhea in China

Salmonella can cause enteric diseases in humans and a wide range of animals, and even outbreaks of foodborne illness. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and distribution of serovars, and antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella isolates from pigs with diarrhea in 26 provinces in China from 2014 to 2016. A total of 104 Salmonella isolates were identified and the dominant serovar was S. 4,[5],12:i:- (53.9%). All Salmonella isolates were resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and many were resistant to ampicillin (80.8%) and tetracycline (76.9%). Among 104 Salmonella isolates, aac(6′)-Ib-cr was the dominant plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance gene (80.8%), followed by qnrS (47.1%). The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis results suggest that the Salmonella isolates from different regions were genetically diverse, and ST34 was the most prevalent. S. 4,[5],12:i:- isolates is the widespread presence of heavy metal tolerance genes. The fact that the same sequence types were found in different regions and the high similarity coefficient of S. 4,[5],12:i:- isolates from different regions indicate the clonal expansion of the isolates, and the isolates carried various antimicrobial resistance genes. The multidrug resistant Salmonella can be widely detected in pigs, which will present a challenge for farm husbandry.