Antibiotic resistance and associated resistance determinants in different Salmonella enterica serovars isolated from pigs in Argentina

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Salmonellosis is one of the most common foodborne diseases in the world, and the increasing antibiotic resistance in Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica recovered from food animals constitutes an important risk from a One Health approach. This study aimed to characterize antibiotic resistance and some of its associated resistance determinants in different S. enterica serovars isolated from pigs in Argentina. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on Salmonella strains isolated between 2011 and 2015 from pigs in the Pampean region of Argentina. The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns to 21 antimicrobials and some antibiotic resistance determinants were characterized in 55 Salmonella isolates, representing 58 farms. RESULTS: We identified 56% (n=30) of the strains as multidrug-resistant, where resistance to tetracycline (62%, n=34), ampicillin (53%, n=29), nalidixic acid (53%, n=29), chloramphenicol (33%, n=18), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (31%, n=17) was most common. The wide range of resistance to ampicillin correlates with the presence of TEM type β-lactamases in the strains. However, high susceptibility was found in the new generation of β-lactams. Fluoroquinolone resistance is a major concern. Most strains with decreased susceptibility to ciprofloxacin showed gyrA mutations and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance gene qnrB. CONCLUSION: Here, we identified broad resistance to some antibiotics frequently used in human therapeutics and several easily transferable resistance mechanisms that could endanger public health.