Antimicrobial Resistance of Salmonella enterica Isolates from Tonsil and Jejunum with Lymph Node Tissues of Slaughtered Swine in Metro Manila, Philippines

Due to frequent antibiotic exposure, swine is now recognized as potential risk in disseminating drug-resistant Salmonella enterica strains. This study thus subjected 20 randomly selected S. enterica isolates from tonsil and jejunum with lymph node (JLN) tissues of swine slaughtered in Metro Manila, Philippines, to VITEK 2 antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). The test revealed all 20 isolates had resistance to at least one antimicrobial agent, in which highest occurrence of resistance was to amikacin (100%), cefazolin (100%), cefuroxime (100%), cefuroxime axetil (100%), cefoxitin (100%), and gentamicin (100%), followed by ampicillin (50%), and then by sulfamethoxazole trimethoprim (30%). Three multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates were detected. The sole S. enterica serotype Enteritidis isolate showed resistance to 12 different antibiotics including ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, amikacin, gentamicin, and tigecycline. This study is the first to report worldwide on the novel resistance to tigecycline of MDR S. enterica serotype Enteritidis isolated from swine tonsil tissues. This finding poses huge therapeutic challenge since MDR S. enterica infections are associated with increased rate of hospitalization or death. Thus, continual regulation of antimicrobial use in food animals and prediction of resistant serotypes are crucial to limit the spread of MDR S. enterica isolates among hogs and humans.