Antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes of Salmonella isolates from chicken industry

The ability of antimicrobial resistant Salmonella strains to cause invasive disease can be attributed to various virulence genes. In this study, the virulence genes located in SPI-1, SPI-2, SPI-5, SPI-11 were found in all antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella isolates. This suggests that these genes play important roles in Salmonella invasion, growth, or survival in the host. The association between the presence of virulence genes and antimicrobial resistance was assessed using the Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and there is a positive association between the gatC, tcfA, hylE, spiA, pagC, msgA, invA, sipB, prgH, spaN, orgA, tolC, iroN, sitC, lpfC, and sopB genes, and resistance to CF, NA and S. This suggests that the association between antimicrobial agents and virulence genes has been shown to vary with the types of antibiotics that are commonly used in different countries. These different associations can be explained by the mechanisms underlying pathogenicity and the acquisition of resistance genes by Salmonella.