Salmonella enterica in imported and domestic day-old turkey poults in Egypt: repertoire of virulence genes and their antimicrobial resistance profiles.

Globalisation and international trade facilitate the rapid spread and transmission of foodborne pathogens. This study was designed to determine the serovars, distribution of virulence genes (invA, avrA, ssaQ, mgtC, siiD, sopB, gipA, sodC1, sopE1, spvC, bcfC) and antibiotic resistance profiles in salmonellae recovered from imported and domestic day-old turkey poults in Egypt. The prevalence of salmonellae in the imported poults was 4% (6/150): S. Enteritidis was the most frequent isolate (1.3%; 2/150), followed by Typhimurium, Virchow, Larochelle and a non-typeable strain, each with 0.7% (1/150) prevalence. The prevalence of salmonellae in the domestic poults was < 2% (2/150) and serotyping indicated a prevalence of 1.3% (1/150) for both Typhimurium and Altona. In polymerase chain reaction screening, the genes invA, sopB and bcfC were detected in all the Enteritidis, Typhimurium, Virchow, Larochelle, Altona and non-typeable isolates (100%); the gene gipA was absent from all isolates. Carriage of invA, sopB and bcfC among the Enteritidis, Typhimurium, Virchow, Larochelle, Altona and non-typeable isolates was associated with a core pattern of resistance to three antibiotics: streptomycin, nalidixic acid and chloramphenicol. The detection of S. Enteritidis, Typhimurium, Virchow, Larochelle, and Altona in turkey poults has important implications because these serovars are a significant cause of foodborne illness and enteric fever in humans.