Dissemination of Salmonella enterica serotype Agona and multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype typhimurium in Cuba

The molecular epidemiology, antimicrobial susceptibility, and mechanisms of resistance of 34 Salmonella spp. strains causing acute gastroenteritis, isolated from different provinces in Cuba, were determined. Sixty-four percent of the strains showed multiresistance. Salmonella typhimurium was the most frequent with 15 strains (44%), 13 of which belonged to phagotype 104 and presented similar genetic profiles of pulsed field gel electrophoresis. High levels of resistance to tetracycline (53%), spectinomycin (50%), ampicillin (44%), and chloramphenicol (41%) were found. Resistance to tetracycline was associated with the tet G and tet A genes. Resistance to ampicillin was caused by the presence of β-lactamases, mainly the CARB type. The floR gene was the main mechanism of resistance to chloramphenicol. Our results showed an antimicrobial susceptible clone of Salmonella enterica serotype Agona in two separate regions. This is the first report of the widespread dissemination of a multiresistant clone of S. enterica serotype Typhimurium definitive phage type 104 in Cuba.