The level of antibiotic resistance shown by a type of Salmonella differs between regions, according to researchers.
The study highlighted the genetic diversity of Salmonella Panama, a pathogen responsible for frequent foodborne infections in the French West Indies and French Guiana and revealed the evolution of a bacterium that had been susceptible to treatment.
Work was led by Professors François-Xavier Weill, of Institut Pasteur, and Kate Baker, from the University of Cambridge. The team analyzed more than 800 genomes collected in 45 countries from 1931 to 2019 and sequenced 559 of them. Results were published in the journal Lancet Microbe.
Isolates came from the Institut Pasteur, the UK Health Security Agency, the Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory in Melbourne, and EnteroBase.
Invasive and resistance differences
The analysis revealed the presence of four geographically linked clades. Scientists identified two clades, mainly found in Europe and Asia, that are particularly resistant to antibiotics and are more invasive. The clades circulating in the Americas, including the French West Indies, remain susceptible to treatment.
In Europe, the resistant clade is thought to be linked to the development of the pig farming industry. After the Second World War, while in Asia, some resistant strains could come from complex food supply chains.
The presence of invasive strains showing antibiotic resistance in Europe and Asia confirms that more surveillance and vigilance are needed, especially in food supply chains, said researchers.
However, in the Americas, the strains have remained susceptible to antibiotics because they are from an environmental reservoir, possibly reptiles.
“These results show that Salmonella Panama is not a uniform pathogen but rather a series of clades that behave in different ways,” said Weill.
The most common resistance profile, occurring in 43 of 121 resistant isolates, was against streptomycin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, trimethoprim, sulfisoxazole, and tetracycline.
Earlier this year, the Le Roch-Les Mousquetaires Foundation renewed its support for the work of Weill’s team in monitoring the evolution of bacterial resistance to antibiotics.”
Author: Joe Whitworth
Source: Food Safety News
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