Characterization of Salmonella Enteritidis isolates of chicken, egg and human origin from Turkey Original Research Article

The 82 local isolates of Salmonella Enteritidis from human, chicken and egg were characterized for their antibiotic resistance patterns, plasmid profiles, phage types (PT), outer membrane proteins (OMP) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) patterns. Relatedness of these characteristics for epidemiological analysis were assessed. Fifty-eight of 82 (71%) strains were resistant to one or more of the antibiotics employed and multi-drug-resistant strains constituted 35% of all isolates. A 54-kb plasmid was common and was harboured by 95% of the isolates. Most of the chicken and egg isolates showed rough type LPS whereas the human isolates mostly gave smooth LPS. Ten different phage types were identified within the 82 strains. Phage type 4 (PT4) predominated followed by PT6. Of the 82 isolates, 64·6% contained OMPs in a molecular weight range of 34·6–30·6 kDa. The data revealed a lack of correlation between the characteristics investigated.