A total of 133 Salmonella isolates recovered from retail meats purchased in the United States and the People's Republic of China were assayed for antimicrobial susceptibility, the presence of integrons and antimicrobial resistance genes, and horizontal transfer of characterized antimicrobial resistance determinants via conjugation. Seventy-three (82%) of these Salmonella isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial agent. Resistance to the following antibiotics was common among the United States isolates: tetracycline (68% of the isolates were resistant), streptomycin (61%), sulfamethoxazole (42%), and ampicillin (29%). Eight Salmonella isolates (6%) were resistant to ceftriaxone. Fourteen isolates (11%) from the People's Republic of China were resistant to nalidixic acid and displayed decreased susceptibility to ciprofloxacin. A total of 19 different antimicrobial resistance genes were identified in 30 multidrug-resistant Salmonella isolates. The bla CMY-2 gene, encoding a class A AmpC ␤-lactamase, was detected in all 10 Salmonella isolates resistant to extended-spectrum ␤-lactams. Resistance to ampicillin was most often associated with a TEM-1 family ␤-lactamase gene. Six aminoglycoside resistance genes, aadA1, aadA2, aacC2, Kn, aph(3)-IIa, and aac(3)-IVa, were commonly present in the Salmonella isolates. Sixteen (54%) of 30 Salmonella isolates tested had integrons ranging in size from 0.75 to 2.7 kb. Conjugation studies demonstrated that there was plasmid-mediated transfer of genes encoding CMY-2 and TEM-1-like ␤-lactamases. These data indicate that Salmonella isolates recovered from retail raw meats are commonly resistant to multiple antimicrobials, including those used for treating salmonellosis, such as ceftriaxone. Genes conferring antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella are often carried on integrons and plasmids and could be transmitted through conjugation. These mobile DNA elements have likely played an important role in transmission and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance determinants among Salmonella strains.

During the past 2 years, an atypical clinical outbreak, caused by a highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) with a unique 30-amino-acid deletion in its Nsp2-coding region, was pandemic in China. In this study, we generated four full-length infectious cDNA clones: a clone of the highly virulent PRRSV strain JXwn06 (pWSK-JXwn), a clone of the low-virulence PRRSV strain HB-1/3.9 (pWSK-HB-1/3.9), a chimeric clone in which the Nsp2 region containing the 30-amino-acid deletion was replaced by the corresponding region of the low-virulence PRRSV strain HB-1/3.9 (pWSK-JXwn-HB1nsp2), and a mutated HB-1/3.9 clone with the same deletion in Nsp2 as JXwn06 (pWSK-HB1-ND30). We also investigated the pathogenicities of the rescued viruses (designated RvJXwn, RvJXwn-HB1nsp2, RvHB-1/3.9, and RvHB1-ND30, respectively) in specific-pathogen-free piglets in order to determine the role of the 30-amino-acid deletion in the virulence of the highly pathogenic PRRSV. All the rescued viruses could replicate stably in MARC-145 cells. Our findings indicated that RvJXwn-HB1nsp2 retained high virulence for piglets, like RvJXwn and the parental virus JXwn06, although the survival time of piglets infected with RvJXwn-HB1nsp2 was obviously prolonged. RvHB1-ND30 exhibited low virulence for piglets, like RvHB-1/3.9 and the parental virus HB-1/3.9. Therefore, we conclude that the 30-amino-acid deletion is not related to the virulence of the highly pathogenic PRRSV emerging in China.

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Escherichia coli isolates from diseased piglets (n ‫؍‬ 89) and chickens (n ‫؍‬ 71) in China were characterized for O serogroups, virulence genes, antimicrobial susceptibility, class 1 integrons, and mechanisms of fluoroquinolone resistance. O78 was the most common serogroup identified (63%) among the chicken E. coli isolates. Most isolates were PCR positive for the increased serum survival gene (iss; 97%) and the temperature-sensitive hemagglutinin gene (tsh; 93%). The O serogroups of swine E. coli were not those typically associated with pathogenic strains, nor did they posses common characteristic virulence factors. Twenty-three serogroups were identified among the swine isolates; however, 38% were O nontypeable. Overall, isolates displayed resistance to nalidixic acid (100%), tetracycline (98%), sulfamethoxazole (84%), ampicillin (79%), streptomycin (77%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (76%). Among the fluoroquinolones, resistance ranged between 64% to levofloxacin, 79% to ciprofloxacin, and 95% to difloxacin. DNA sequencing of gyrA, gyrB, parC, and parE quinolone resistance-determining regions of 39 nalidixic acid-resistant E. coli isolates revealed that a single gyrA mutation was found in all of the isolates; mutations in parC together with double gyrA mutations conferred high-level resistance to fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin MIC, >8 g/ml). Class 1 integrons were identified in 17 (19%) isolates from swine and 42 (47%) from chickens. The majority of integrons possessed genes conferring resistance to streptomycin and trimethoprim. These findings suggest that multiple-antimicrobial-resistant E. coli isolates, including fluoroquinolone-resistant variants, are commonly present among diseased swine and chickens in China, and they also suggest the need for the introduction of surveillance programs in China to monitor antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic bacteria that can be potentially transmitted to humans from food animals.

H9N2 influenza viruses have been circulating worldwide in multiple avian species and repeatedly infecting mammals, including pigs and humans, posing a significant threat to public health. The coexistence of H9N2 and pandemic influenza H1N1/2009 viruses in pigs and humans provides an opportunity for these viruses to reassort. To evaluate the potential public risk of the reassortant viruses derived from these viruses, we used reverse genetics to generate 127 H9 reassortants derived from an avian H9N2 and a pandemic H1N1 virus, and evaluated their compatibility, replication ability, and virulence in mice. These hybrid viruses showed high genetic compatibility and more than half replicated to a high titer in vitro. In vivo studies of 73 of 127 reassortants revealed that all viruses were able to infect mice without prior adaptation and 8 reassortants exhibited higher pathogenicity than both parental viruses. All reassortants with higher virulence than parental viruses contained the PA gene from the 2009 pandemic virus, revealing the important role of the PA gene from the H1N1/2009 virus in generating a reassortant virus with high public health risk. Analyses of the polymerase activity of the 16 ribonucleoprotein combinations in vitro suggested that the PA of H1N1/2009 origin also enhanced polymerase activity. Our results indicate that some avian H9-pandemic reassortants could emerge with a potentially higher threat for humans and also highlight the importance of monitoring the H9-pandemic reassortant viruses that may arise, especially those that possess the PA gene of H1N1/2009 origin.

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