Commentary Open Access

Drug-Resistant Salmonella enterica Serotype Kentucky ST198 in China- A Potential Threat to Public Health.

Abstract

 In China, non-typhoid Salmonella is an important foodborne pathogen and results in 70% -80% of bacterial food poisoning every year [1]. The majority of salmonellosis is caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium [2]. Salmonella enterica serovar Kentucky (S. Kentucky) is an important serotype that has severely endangered human health in the United States and Europe in recent years, showing a high resistance to ciprofloxacin and a rapid cross epidemic of human and animal strains [3-5]. Zhiying Xiong and colleagues published the article entitled: “Ciprofloxacin-Resistant Salmonella enterica Serovar Kentucky ST198 in Broiler Chicken Supply Chain and Patients, China, 2010–2016” in the journal Microorganisms [6], which is the first time to systematically reveal that S. Kentucky is a significant serotype widely distributed in humans, poultry, food and environment in China. The prevalent ST type of S. Kentucky is complex and S. Kentucky ST198 and S. Kentucky ST314 (unpublished data) are the dominated ST type. Drug-resistant S. Kentucky ST198 is severe, of which the 63 S. Kentucky ST198 isolates, up to 90% of the strains showed multiple drug resistance (MDR, resistance to at least three antibiotics), while more than 60% of the strains simultaneously showed high resistance to ciprofloxacin (MIC ≥ 16) and MDR. Furthermore, 14.3% of ST198 strains displayed co-resistance to cefotaxime (MIC ≥ 32), ciprofloxacin and MDR. More importantly, the study found that S. Kentucky ST198 poses a risk of cross-source transmission between humans, poultry and food, especially the resistant strains. What worries us is that ciprofloxacin and cefotaxime are effective options for the treatment of clinical non-typhoid Salmonella infections, especially multidrug-resistant non-typhoid Salmonella infections [7]. However, high resistance rates to ciprofloxacin and/or cefotaxime have been observed in multidrug-resistant S. Kentucky ST198, which greatly increases the difficulty of clinical treatment and poses a serious threat to public health. 

 Zeqeang Zaan, Shoojun Wong, Yeqian Wu, Xeehuan Haang, Cumin Wang, Zhiyang Xioog, Jiaamin Zaang

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