Evaluation of antibiotic resistance and prevalence of common Salmonella enterica serovars isolated from foodborne outbreaks

Salmonella is one of the major causes of foodborne outbreaks and numerous studies have reported the presence of its serovars in foodborne outbreaks. Identification of the most prevalent serovars, common polluted food types and attention to the antibiotic resistance of its serovars, are therefore key factors in the prevention and control of salmonellosis. The aim of this study is thus isolation of the common Salmonella serovars, identification of corresponding food categories and determination of their antibiotic resistance status in the stool samples of people poisoned in foodborne outbreaks in Iran during the period 2013 to 2019. Salmonella strain was isolated with serotyping and antibiogram test on 1425 collected stools. among them, 83 samples (5.8%) contain salmonella strain. The most frequent serovars were S. enteritidisand S. senftenberg, respectively (26.3%, 21.3%). The highest salmonellosis incidence rates were observed in the consumption of cooked meat (64.2%) then fruits and vegetables (21.4%). According to our findings, an increase in the prevalence of Salmonella senftenberg in foodborne outbreaks with 5.3% resistance to extended spectrum cephalosporins such as ceftazidime and cefotaxime, and a decrease in cefepime sensitivity and nalidixic acid resistance could be warnings of the emergence of this serovar with increasing antibiotic resistance.