Molecular and Pathogenic Characterization of Salmonella enterica Serovar Bovismorbificans Strains of Animal, Environmental, Food, and Human Origin in Hungary

Abstract In this study, we characterized 110 strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Bovismorbificans contaminating environment, animals, food of animal origin, and human, to assess their significance along the food chain in Hungary. Additionally, five strains from Germany were tested for comparative purposes. Characterization involved antibiotic susceptibility testing, class 1 integron detection by polymerase chain reaction, plasmid profiling, virulotyping (using virulence gene-specific polymerase chain reactions), and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Pathogenic potential of selected strains was tested in orally infected 1-day-old specific pathogen-free chicks. Eighty-two percent of the strains were susceptible to the 16 antibiotics tested, and none of them had class 1 integron. A multidrug-resistant human isolate harbored a blaSHV5-type extended-spectrum β-lactamase gene, first reported in this serotype. All the strains possessed avrA, ssaQ, mgtC, spi4, and sopB genes indicating the presence of Salmonel...