Simultaneous oral administration of Salmonella Infantis and S. Typhimurium in chicks.

BACKGROUND: To confirm the hypothesis that Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar (S.) Infantis has higher basic reproductive rates in chicks compared with other Salmonella serovars, 1-day-old specific-pathogen-free chicks (n = 8) were challenged simultaneously with S. Infantis and S. Typhimurium per os. Challenged chicks (Group A) were then housed with non-infected chicks (Group B, n = 4) for 6 days (from 2 to 8 days of age). Group B birds were then housed with other non-infected birds (Group C, n = 4), which were then transferred to cages containing a further group of untreated chicks (Group D, n = 2). A control group consisting of four non-infected chicks was used for comparison. All chickens were humanely sacrificed at 18 days of age, and Salmonella from bowel and liver samples were enumerated. RESULTS: Both serovars were isolated from all groups except the control group. S. Typhimurium was isolated at a greater frequency than S. Infantis from the bowel samples of chicks from Groups B, C and D, while no differences in colonisation rates were observed between the two serovars in liver samples from Groups B, C and D. S. Typhimurium, but not S. Infantis, was immunohistochemically detected in the lamina propria of the cecum and rectum in five birds of Group A. Despite the competitive administration, neither of the two serovars completely excluded the other, and no differences were observed in basic reproductive rates between the two serovars. CONCLUSIONS: These findings, together with data from previous studies, suggest that the initial quantitative domination of S. Infantis in chicken flocks may explain why this serovar is predominant in broiler chickens.

Chicken meat is an infection source of Salmonella serovar Infantis for humans in Japan.

BACKGROUND: The study sets out to either confirm or refute a recent study's findings that chicken meat is an unlikely source of Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Infantis (Salmonella Infantis) in humans in the Kyushu-Okinawa region, Japan. METHODS: A total of 74 Salmonella Infantis isolates (30 from human and 44 from other sources), mainly from the Kyushu-Okinawa region in south-western Japan, were analyzed using a molecular-epidemiological approach combining two fingerprinting methods, namely pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), a novel polymerase chain reaction-based technique. RESULTS: The resulting pulsed-field profiles showed that 17 of 30 human isolates were similar to those found in chicken meat, whereas there were no common pulsed-field profiles between human and chicken egg isolates. Overall, 3 of 18 AFLP profiles included 7 human isolates and 14 chicken egg isolates. In addition, the combined results of the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and AFLP analyses showed that 8 human Salmonella Infantis and 13 chicken meat isolates belonged to the same clonal lines. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that chicken meat is an infection source of Salmonella Infantis for humans in the Kyushu-Okinawa region, Japan. The results also showed the relatively high suitability of AFLP for application to epidemiological studies of Salmonella Infantis.

Decrease in the prevalence of extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Salmonella following cessation of ceftiofur use by the Japanese poultry industry.

Extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC)-resistant Salmonella in chicken meat is a significant food safety concern. We previously reported that the prevalence of ESC-resistant Salmonella in chicken meat, giblets, and processed chicken (chicken meat products) increased in Japan between 2005 and 2010, with 27.9% (17/61) of Salmonella isolated from chicken meat products in 2010 showing resistance to ESC. The aims of the present study were to clarify trends in the prevalence of ESC-resistant Salmonella in chicken meat products in Japan between 2011 and 2015, and to determine the genetic profiles of bla-harboring plasmids, including replicon types, using next-generation sequencing. Our results showed that the prevalence of ESC-resistant Salmonella, mainly consisting of AmpC ß-lactamase CMY-2-producing isolates, in chicken meat products had increased to 45.5% (10/22) by 2011. However, following the voluntary cessation of ceftiofur use by the Japanese poultry industry in 2012, the prevalence of ESC-resistant Salmonella steadily decreased each year, to 29.2% (7/24), 18.2% (4/22), 10.5% (2/19), and 10.5% (2/19) in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively. Furthermore, no AmpC ß-lactamase CMY-2-producing isolates were identified in 2014 and 2015. However, the prevalence of Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Manhattan isolates harboring a blaTEM-52-carrying IncX1 plasmid remained steady even after the cessation of ceftiofur use. Therefore, continuous monitoring of ESC resistance amongst Salmonella isolates from chicken meat products is required for food safety.

Pulsed-field profile diversities of Salmonella Enteritidis, S. Infantis, and S. Corvallis in Japan.

The diversity of pulsed-field profiles (PFPs) within non-typhoidal Salmonella subtypes influences epidemiological analyses of Salmonella outbreaks. Therefore, determining the PFP diversity of each Salmonella serovar is important when evaluating current circulating strains. This study examined the PFP diversity of three important public health Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovars, S. Enteritidis (n=177), S. Infantis (n=205), and S. Corvallis (n=90), using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Isolates were collected from several sources, primarily from chicken-derived samples, in the Kyushu-Okinawa region of Japan between 1989 and 2005. S. Enteritidis isolates displayed 51 distinct PFPs (E-PFPs), with 92 (52.0%) and 32 (18.1%) isolates displaying types E-PFP1 and E-PFP10, respectively. The 205 S. Infantis isolates showed 54 distinct PFPs (I-PFPs), with 87 (42.4%) and 36 (17.6%) isolates being I-PFP4 and I-PFP2, respectively. I-PFP18 was the dominant I-PFP of layer chicken isolates across a 5-year period. Fourteen distinct S. Corvallis PFPs were detected. Simpson's index results for the genetic diversities of S. Enteritidis, S. Infantis, and S. Corvallis isolates were 0.70, 0.79, and 0.78, respectively. None of the E-PFPs or I-PFPs of layer chicken isolates overlapped with those of broiler chicken isolates, and the dominant clonal lines existed for >10 years. In conclusion, limited PFP diversities were detected amongst S. Enteritidis, S. Infantis, and S. Corvallis isolates of primarily chicken-derived origins in the Kyushu-Okinawa region of Japan. Therefore, it is important to take into account these limitations in PFP diversities in epidemiological analyses of Salmonella outbreaks.

[Amplified fragment length polymorphism genotyping of Shigellae and comparison to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and colicin typing].

Shigella is an etiological agent of communicable and food-borne disease worldwide, so it is important to develop typing for Shigella in epidemiological studies. We compared amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), molecular epidemiological typing, to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and colicin typing in typeability, reproducibility, discriminatory power, ease of interpretation, and ease of use for 51 Shigella isolates to determine AFLP applicability to Shigella. AFLP showed less reproducibility and ease of interpretation although it was superior to PFGE and colicin typing in typeability and discriminatory power. Specifying the reproducibility of these typing methods, the intrastrain similarity of AFLP was 81.9%-90.5% in each of three strains tested in triplicate trials, while PFGE showed higher similarity, ranging from 92.3%-100%. AFLP created a phylogenetic tree and classified four Shigella species taxonomically, despite its lower reproducibility. These results suggest that AFLP is inferior to PFGE as molecular typing for Shigella epidemiologically in outbreaks or sporadic cases, although AFLP can create a phylogenetic tree for taxonomical purposes.

Increase in resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins in Salmonella isolated from retail chicken products in Japan.

Extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Salmonella are one of the most important public health problems in developed countries. ESBL-producing Salmonella strains have been isolated from humans in Asian countries neighboring Japan, along with strains harboring the plasmid-mediated extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC)-resistance gene, ampC (pAmpC). However, only a few studies have investigated the prevalence of ESC-resistant Salmonella in chicken products in Japan, which are the main vehicle of Salmonella transmission. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of ESBL-producing, pAmpC-harboring, or carbapenem-resistant Salmonella in chicken products in Japan. In total, 355 out of 779 (45.6%) chicken product samples collected from 1996-2010 contained Salmonella, resulting in 378 distinct isolates. Of these isolates, 373 were tested for resistance to ESCs, cephamycins, or carbapenems. Isolates that showed resistance to one or more of these antimicrobials were then examined by PCR and DNA sequence analysis for the presence of the bla(CMY), bla(CTX-M), bla(TEM), and bla(SHV) resistance genes. Thirty-five resistant isolates were detected, including 26 isolates that contained pAmpC (bla(CMY-2)), and nine ESBL-producing isolates harboring bla(CTX-M) (n = 4, consisting of two bla(CTX-M-2) and two bla(CTX-M-15 genes)), bla(TEM) (n = 4, consisting of one bla(TEM-20) and three bla(TEM-52) genes), and bla(SHV) (n = 1, bla(SHV-12)). All pAmpC-harboring and ESBL-producing Salmonella isolates were obtained from samples collected after 2005, and the percentage of resistant isolates increased significantly from 0% in 2004 to 27.9% in 2010 (P for trend = 0.006). This increase was caused in part by an increase in the number of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Infantis strains harboring an approximately 280-kb plasmid containing bla(CMY-2) in proximity to ISEcp1. The dissemination of ESC-resistant Salmonella containing plasmid-mediated bla(CMY-2) in chicken products indicates the need for the development of continuous monitoring strategies in the interests of public health.

Easy washing of lysed cell plugs for bacterial typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis using simple equipment.

We designed and tested equipment to wash plugs following cell lysis in pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Our system can wash 30 plugs simultaneously in 1h using 15L of Tris-EDTA buffer, which makes plug washing for PFGE less labor-intensive.

Salmonella in liquid eggs and other foods in fukuoka prefecture, Japan.

The study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of Salmonella in retail and wholesale foods in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. A total of 2,021 samples collected between 1999 and 2010 were tested using a culture method. Samples consisted of liquid eggs (n = 30), meat (beef and pork) (n = 781), offal (n = 69), processed meats (n = 2), seafood (n = 232), processed seafood (dried fish) (n = 76), vegetables (n = 481), processed vegetables (n = 87), fruits (n = 167), and herbs (n = 96) from 574 outlets and wholesale agents in 15 areas (five samples were undocumented regarding outlets). Overall, liquid egg showed significantly (P < 0.001) higher frequencies of Salmonella contamination (13.3%) than beef (1/423, 0.2%) and pork (3/235, 1.3%). Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Enteritidis, the most common serovar as a human pathogen, were isolated from two liquid egg samples. No Salmonella were isolated from seafood and vegetable-related samples including seed sprouts (n = 261). In conclusion, liquid egg is a significant Salmonella vehicle, showing a need to continue the vaccination of chickens to prevent S. Enteritidis contamination in Japanese eggs. Moreover, further study is needed to evaluate Salmonella contamination in seed sprouts with more sampling from retailers there.

Multi-locus sequence typing of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Enteritidis strains in Japan between 1973 and 2004.

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) was responsible for a worldwide pandemic during the 1980s and 1990s; however, changes in the dominant lineage before and after this event remain unknown. This study determined S. Enteritidis lineages before and after this pandemic event in Japan using multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Thirty S. Enteritidis strains were collected in Japan between 1973 and 2004, consisting of 27 human strains from individual episodes, a bovine strain, a liquid egg strain and an eggshell strain. Strains showed nine phage types and 17 pulsed-field profiles with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. All strains had homologous type 11 sequences without any nucleotide differences in seven housekeeping genes. These MLST results suggest that S. Enteritidis with the diversities revealed by phage typing and pulsed-field profiling has a highly clonal population. Although type 11 S. Enteritidis may exhibit both pleiotropic surface structure and pulsed-field type variation, it is likely to be a stable lineage derived from an ancestor before the 1980s and/or 1990s pandemic in Japan.