H Farhan Abbas - Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq

Salmonella species (spp.) are a major source of diarrheal diseases everywhere and one of the most dangerous foodborne bacteria. The present study aimed to detect the occurrence of the most important virulence genes in Salmonella enterica (S. enterica) among bacteria isolated from stool in Baghdad hospitals, Iraq. In total, ۵۰ swab stool samples were collected from patients suffering from food poisoning, attending to different hospitals in Baghdad. The isolates were identified using morphological tests and were confirmed by the Vitek-۲ system (BioMe´rieux, France). A genomic DNA kit (Qiagen, Germany) was utilized to extract DNA from the isolates. Molecular detection of five virulence genes, including invA, papC, spvC, stn, and fimH, was performed using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Out of ۵۰ swab samples, ۴۰% (۲۰ samples) were confirmed as S. enterica. Moreover, the prevalence of virulence genes determined by the PCR demonstrated that all ۲۰ S. enterica isolates carried at least one gene from those associated with biofilm formation. The invA, stn, and fimH were the most predominant genes existing in all ۲۰ S. enterica isolates. The prevalence of papC and spvC virulence genes was ۷۵% (۱۵ out of ۲۰) and ۶۵% (۱۳ out of ۲۰), respectively. The current data support the occurrence of Salmonella spp. exhibiting a broad range of virulence genes in stool samples from patients who had food poisoning, which indeed makes these bacteria a significant threat to public health.

Foodborne illnesses, PCR, Salmonella, virulence genes