Molecular Characterization and the Antimicrobial Resistance Profile of Salmonella spp. Isolated from Ready-to-Eat Foods in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The emergence of antimicrobial-resistantfood-borne bacteria is a great challenge to public health. This study was conducted to characterize and determine the resistance profile of Salmonella strains isolated from foods including sesames, ready-to-eat (RTE) salads, mango juices, and lettuce in Burkina Faso. One hundred and forty-eight biochemically identified Salmonella isolates were characterized by molecular amplification of Salmonella marker invA and spiC , misL , orfL , and pipD virulence genes. After that, all confirmed strains were examined for susceptibility to sixteen antimicrobials, and PCR amplifications were used to identify the following resistance genes: bla TEM , temA , temB , StrA , aadA , sul1 , sul2 , tet(A) , and tet(B) . One hundred and eight isolates were genetically confirmed as Salmonella spp. Virulence genes were observed in 57.4%, 55.6%, 49.1%, and 38% isolates for pipD , SpiC , misL , and orfL , respectively. Isolates have shown moderate resistance to gentamycin (26.8%), ampicillin (22.2%), cefoxitin (19.4%), and nalidixic acid (18.5%). All isolates were sensitive to six antibiotics, including cefotaxime, ceftazidime, aztreonam, imipenem, meropenem, and ciprofloxacin. Among the 66 isolates resistant to at least one antibiotic, 11 (16.7%) were multidrug resistant. The Multiple Antimicrobial Resistance (MAR) index of Salmonella serovars ranged from 0.06 to 0.53. PCR detected 7 resistance genes ( tet(A) , tet(B) , bla TEM , temB , sul1 , sul2 , and aadA ) in drug-resistant isolates. These findings raise serious concerns because ready-to-eat food in Burkina Faso could serve as a reservoir for spreading antimicrobial resistance genes worldwide.