Analysis of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium by phage typing, antimicrobial susceptibility and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

Three typing methods commonly used for bacteria - phage typing, antimicrobial susceptibility and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) - were used to characterise 64 Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium isolates from individual adult patients from Nairobi, Kenya. The isolates encompassed 11 definitive phage types (DTs), which fell into eight PFGE clusters; 31.3% of isolates were either untypable or reacted non-specifically with the phages used for typing and 26.6% were of DT 56. Plasmids of c. 100 kb were responsible for self-transferable multiresistance among the isolates. Analysis by PFGE and phage type demonstrated that multiresistant Typhimurium strains causing diarrhoea and invasive disease were multiclonal.