Antimicrobial resistance and molecular typing of Salmonella in the chicken production chain in Hubei Province, China

Salmonella is a significant foodborne zoonotic pathogen that endangers both human and animal health.The goal of this research is to gain a preliminary understanding of Salmonella contamination and antimicrobial resistance in the chicken production chain in Hubei Province,China.1149 animal and environmental samples were collected from chicken farms,slaughterhouses,and retail markets in six cities across Hubei Province in China from 2019 to 2020,yielding Salmonella isolation rates of 4.68%(28/598),12.21%(47/385),and 9.64%(16/166),respectively.Seventeen distinct serotypes were detected among 53 non-clonal Salmonella strains,of which Meleagridis(26.42%,14/53)was the dominant serotype.Almost half of the strains(49.06%,26/53)were multi-drug resistant(MDR).Whole-genome sequencing(WGS)showed that 10 resistance genes(tetA,bla_(TEM),parC,qnrs1,floR,aac(6'-ly,aph(6)-ld,aph(3")-b,aac(6')-laa and sul2)and 7 categories of virulence genes were present in all three links in 22 non-clonal dominant serotype strains.It was shown that Salmonella in the chicken production chain in Hubei Province had a high resist-ance rate to Tetracycline(TET,73.58%),Ofloxacin(OFL,69.81%),Florfenicol(FFC,60.38%)and Ampicillin(AMP,39.62%)which was consistent with the widespread use of these drugs in the husbandry industry in China.Salmonella ST types determined by MLST and serotypes determined by WGS had a one-to-one correlation.Minimum spanning tree analysis revealed that there was cross contamination of Salmonella in farms and slaughterhouses,slaughterhouses and markets,animal samples and environmental samples.This work provides useful information for the prevention and control of contamination and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella in the chicken production chain,as well as demonstrating the dependable role of WGS in Salmonella molecular typing.