Abstract INTRODUCTION Salmonella enterica serovar Panama belongs to the D1 serogroup and is frequently associated with nontyphoidal salmonellosis in humans. This study aimed to characterize isolates collected from Northeast Brazil by phenotypic and molecular methods. METHODS Forty four S. Panama strains were examined for antimicrobial susceptibility, virulence genes, and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) types. RESULTS All strains were susceptible to antibiotics (except for streptomycin), presented classical virulence factors, and could be clustered into four groups and 18 pulsotypes. CONCLUSIONS This work calls for continuous surveillance for the emergence of antibiotic resistance and new clones in a geographical area.

ABSTRACT The herein presented assay provided a bacteriological and molecular characterization of 100 samples of L. monocytogenes isolated from human (43) and food (57) sources, from several regions of Brazil, and collected between 1975 and 2013. Antigenic characterization defined 49% of serotype 4b samples, followed by 28% of serotype 1/2b, 14% of serotype 1/2c, 8% of serotype 1/2a, and 1% of serotype 3b. Both type of samples from human and food origin express the same serotype distribution. Multiplex PCR analysis showed 13 strains of type 4b with the amplification profile 4b-VI (Variant I). Virulence genes hly, inlA, inlB, inlC, inlJ, actA, plcA, and prfA were detected in all samples, highlighting a deletion of 105pb on the actA gene in 23% of serotype 4b samples. Macrorestriction profile with ApaI at PFGE showed 55 pulsotypes, with the occurrence of the same pulsotype in hospitalized patients in São Paulo in 1992 and 1997, and two other highly related pulsotypes in patients hospitalized in Rio de Janeiro in 2008. Recognized pulsotypes in listeriosis cases have also been detected in food. Thus, the prevalence of a serotype and the persistence of certain pulsotypes herald future problems.

Ten out of fifty fresh and refrigerated samples of shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) collected from retailers in Natal (Rio Grande do Norte, Northeastern Brazil) tested positive for Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The Kanagawa test and multiplex PCR assays were used to detect TDH and TRH hemolysins and the tdh, trh and tlh genes, respectively. All strains were Kanagawa-negative and tlh-positive. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done for seven antibiotics by the agar diffusion technique. Five strains (50%) presented multiple antibiotic resistance to ampicillin (90%) and amikacin (60%), while two strains (20%) displayed intermediate-level resistance to amikacin. All strains were sensitive to chloramphenicol. Intermediate-level susceptibility and/or resistance to other antibiotics ranged from 10 to 90%, with emphasis on the observed growing intermediate-level resistance to ciprofloxacin. Half our isolates yielded a multiple antibiotic resistance index above 0.2 (range: 0.14-0.29), indicating a considerable risk of propagation of antibiotic resistance throughout the food chain.

Aeromonas spp é reconhecida como patogênica para o homem após o consumo de água e alimentos contaminados. Na presente investigação, foram avaliadas 2.323 amostras de swabs retais de neonatos hospitalizados no Rio de Janeiro objetivando o isolamento de Aeromonas. As amostras foram coletadas e enviadas ao Laboratório de Referência Nacional de Cólera e outras enteroinfecções bacterianas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Os swabs foram submetidos ao enriquecimento em água peptonada alcalina adicionada de 1% de cloreto de sódio (NaCl) e água peptonada alcalina adicionada de 3% de NaCl (37ºC/18-24h) e semeadas em agar seletivo para Pseudomonas aeromonas (Agar GSP). Foram isoladas 56 cepas de Aeromonas assim distribuídas: Aeromonas caviae (42,8%), Aeromonas media (25%), Aeromonas veronii biogrupo sobria (10,7%), Aeromonas hydrophila (9%), Aeromonas veronii biogrupo veronii (5,3%), Aeromonas sobria (1,8%), Aeromonas jandaei (1,8%), Aeromonas schubertii (1,8%) e Aeromonas sp (1,8%). Foi observada resistência a uma ou mais drogas antimicrobianas em 26,8% das cepas. Considerando a relevância de Aeromonas torna-se urgente alertar sobre sua importância para o controle de infecções hospitalares.

Aeromonas spp is recognized as pathogenic to humans after consumption of contaminated water and food. In the present investigation, 2,323 rectal swab samples from newborns hospitalized in Rio de Janeiro were evaluated with a view to isolating Aeromonas. The samples were collected and sent to the national reference laboratory for cholera and other bacterial intestinal infections, at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. The swabs were subjected to enrichment in alkaline peptonated water with the addition of 1% sodium chloride (NaCl) and alkaline peptonated water plus 3% NaCl (37°C/18-24h) and were streaked onto agar that was selective for Pseudomonas-Aeromonas (GSP Agar). Fifty-six Aeromonas strains were isolated, distributed as follows: Aeromonas caviae (42.8%), Aeromonas media (25%), Aeromonas veronii biogroup sobria (10.7%), Aeromonas hydrophila (9%), Aeromonas veronii biogroup veronii (5.3%), Aeromonas sobria (1.8%), Aeromonas jandaei (1.8%), Aeromonas schubertii (1.8%) and Aeromonas sp (1.8%). Resistance to one or more antimicrobial drugs was observed in 26.8% of the strains. Considering the importance of Aeromonas, there is an urgent need to warn about this in relation to nosocomial infection control.