Salmonellosis is the most prevalent bacterial food-borne disease in the State of Paraná, Brazil, and the outbreaks are often associated with consumption of poultry products. The aim of this study was to serotype Salmonella strains isolated from chicken carcasses and characterize them molecularly using REP and ERIC-PCR. The phage types of Salmonella Enteriditis were also identified. Of the 25 Salmonella strains analysed, 18 were identified as Enteriditis, 4 as Braenderup, 2 as Worthington and 1 as infantis. Of the 18 Enteriditis isolates, 14 were PT4, 2 PT4a, 1 PT7 and 1 "reacted, but did not conform" - RDNC. Distinct REP-PCR profiles with 10 to 13 fragments distributed between 120 and 2072 pb were easily obtained for each serovar tested. ERIC-PCR showed patterns of 4 to 5 fragments between 180 and 1000 pb and less discriminatory power than REP-PCR. The results confirmed that phage typing is a useful tool to differentiate into sorovar Enteriditis. Although it is recognized that only a limited number of strains was tested in this study, the results suggest that REP-PCR could be an attractive choice to be used in the future as a preliminary method of Salmonella sorovar discrimination.
Salmonella Enteriditis; phage type; serotypes; REP-PCR; ERIC-PCR
