title: Clonal structure and variation in virulence of Salmonella enteritidis isolated from mice, chickens, and humans.
abstract: The clonal analysis of a diverse collection of Salmonella Enteritidis indicates that most strains belong to a single multilocus genotype (i.e., ET-3) regardless of phage type, geographic origin, or time of isolation that spanned over 2 decades (1978 to 2004). Attachment and invasion assays, however, indicate that, among ET-3 isolates, there is a distinct invasive bacterial subpopulation that is more readily recovered from eggs and clinical cases in humans than from chicken cecal samples. These observations support the hypothesis that the specialized ability of S. Enteritidis to infect the avian reproductive tract and contaminate eggs has been critical in its emergence as a frequent cause of human illness.
authors.affiliation: Michigan State University, National Food Safety and Toxicology Center, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. saeedama@cvm.msu.edu
authors.forename: A Mahdi
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Saeed
authors.forename: Seth T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Walk
authors.forename: Mokhtar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arshad
authors.forename: Thomas S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Whittam
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D001287:Attachment Sites, Microbiological; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004586:Electrophoresis; D005260:Female; D006107:Granulosa Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D012480:Salmonella Infections / Q000635:transmission; D012477:Salmonella enteritidis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology