Occurrence of multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis isolates from poultry in Iran

Salmonella enterica is recognized as one of the major food-borne pathogens with more than 2,500 serotypesworldwide. The present study addresses antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidisisolates in Iran. A collection of 151 Salmonella spp. isolates collected from poultry were serotyped toidentify Salmonella Enteritidis. Sixty-one Salmonella Enteritidis were subsequently tested against 30antimicrobials. A high frequency of antimicrobial resistance was observed against nitrofurantoin (n=55,90.2%) followed by nalidixic acid (n=41, 67.2%), and cephalexin (n=23, 37.7%). Multi-drug resistancewere observed in 35 (57.4%) out of 61 isolates. Twenty-six antimicrobial resistance patterns were observedamong the 61 Salmonella Enteritidis. All isolates were susceptible to ofloxacin, imipenem, enrofloxacin,chloramphenicol, gentamicin, and 3rd and 4th generation cephalosporins. In conclusion, our results revealedthat implementing new policies toward overuse of antimicrobial drugs in Iranian poultry industry are ofgreat importance.