Characterization of a multidrug-resistant isolate of

Enteric fever, comprising both typhoid and paratyphoid fevers, continues to be a global health problem with an estimated 12–33 million cases occurring worldwide each year.1 Paratyphoid fever is caused by Salmonella Paratyphi A, B and C and multidrug-resistance (MDR), defined as resistance to the three first-line agents chloramphenicol, ampicillin and co-trimoxazole, is an emerging problem in organisms of type B.2–4 The molecular basis for the MDR phenotype of the newly emerged S. Paratyphi B was found to be due to the presence of the Salmonella genomic island 1 (SGI1) of Salmonella Typhimurium DT 104.3,4 During the last two decades, a clone of multidrug-resistant S. Typhimurium phage type DT 104 has spread as one of the most common causes of human salmonellosis in several countries.5 The majority of the DT 104 isolates have an MDR phenotype designated ACSSuT indicating that they are resistan