Antimicrobial Resistance in Salmonella enterica Serovar Paratyphi B Variant Java in Poultry from Europe and Latin America

Salmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi B variant Java sequence type 28 is prevalent in poultry and poultry meat. We investigated the evolutionary relatedness between sequence type 28 strains from Europe and Latin America using time-resolved phylogeny and principal component analysis. We sequenced isolates from Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and the Netherlands and complemented them with publicly available genomes from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Phylogenetic time trees and effective population sizes (N(e)) showed separate clustering of strains from Latin America and Europe. The separation is estimated to have occurred during the 1980s. N(e) of strains increased sharply in Europe around 1995 and in Latin America around 2005. Principal component analysis on noncore genes showed a clear distinction between strains from Europe and Latin America, whereas the plasmid gene content was similar. Regardless of the evolutionary separation, similar features of resistance to β-lactams and quinolones/fluoroquinolones indicated parallel evolution of antimicrobial resistance in both regions.