Serotype Distribution and Antimicrobial Resistance of Salmonella Isolates in Korea between 2016 and 2017

Salmonella is one of the major causes of food-borne infections. We investigated the serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella isolates collected in Korea between January 2016 and December 2017. In total, 669 Salmonella isolates were collected from clinical specimens at 19 university hospitals. Serotyping was performed according to the Kauffmann–White scheme, and antimicrobial susceptibility was tested using Sensititre EUVSEC plates or disk diffusion. Among the strains, C (39.8%) and B (36.6%) were the most prevalent serogroups. In total, 51 serotypes were identified, and common serotypes were S. enterica serovar I 4,[5],12:i:- (16.7%), S. Enteritidis (16.1%), S. Bareilly (14.6%), S. Typhimurium (9.9%), and S. Infantis (6.9%). The resistance rates to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole were 32.6%, 12.1%, and 8.4%, respectively. The resistance rates to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin were 8.1% and 3.0%, respectively, while 5.4% were multidrug-resistant. S. enterica serovar I 4,[5],12:i:- and S. Enteritidis were highly prevalent, and there was an increase in rare serotypes. Multidrug resistance and ciprofloxacin resistance were highly prevalent. Periodic investigations of Salmonella serotypes and antimicrobial resistance are needed.