Genotyping and antibiotic susceptibility of Salmonella strains collected from sheep and cattle samples in Algeria.

The present work investigates the genetic relatedness and antibiotic susceptibility of Salmonella strains collected from the red meat supply chain, highlighting the public health significance of these pathogens. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE-XbaI) was applied to genotype a collection of 84 Salmonella strains isolated from slaughterhouses. The antibiotic susceptibility of these strains to fourteen antimicrobial agents was determined using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method. The isolates were classified into 22 fingerprints, with two strains being non-typable. The predominant PFGE types identified were Mu1 (n=18), I2 (n=10), and K2 (n=8), indicating a high level of genetic similarity among isolates (>80%). All Salmonella strains exhibited resistance to at least two antimicrobials, with approximately 34.5% displaying resistance to three or more classes of antibiotics. Twelve distinct resistant patterns were identified, and notably, only one colistin-resistant Salmonella strain was detected. These findings underscore the need for ongoing surveillance and control measures in the red meat industry.