Characterization of Extended-Spectrum b-Lactamase-Producing Salmonella typhimurium by Phenotypic and Genotypic Typing Methods

During 1994, 10 isolates of extended-spectrum b-lactamase-producing Salmonella typhimurium were recov-ered from children transferred to our hospital from two different centers. Two additional isolates were recovered from two nurses from one of these centers. The aim of this study was to determine if there is any relationship between these isolates. The characterization was done by phenotypic and genotypic methods: biotyping, phage typing, antibiotic susceptibility pattern determination, plasmid analysis, ribotyping (by the four endonucleases EcoRI, SmaI, BglII, and PvuII), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of genome mac-rorestriction patterns with XbaI, and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) pattern determination (with the three primers 217 d2, B1, and A3). The same biotype, the same serotype, and an identical antibiotype were found. All isolates were resistant to oxyimino-b-lactams, gentamicin, tobramycin, and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim. All isolates showed an indistinguishable pattern by ribotyping and very similar patterns by PFGE and RAPD. The overall results indicated the spread of a closely related strain of S. typhimurium in children and nurses. The incidence of infections caused by salmonellae other than Salmonella typhi has increased considerably in many countries (7, 44). The most common serotypes, isolated from human and animal sources, in the United States (21, 44)