Frequency distribution of S. typhi-murium phage types in various countries

The phage type and antibiogram of 5199 S. typhi murium strains from 13 countries and of 4949 strains from The Netherlands was determined. For a number of countries it could be established that types predominating in pigs or calves predominate also in humans in that country. However, the predominant phage types were not the same in the various countries. Type 505 predominated in The Netherlands and, to a lesser degree, also in Belgium and the German Federal Republic. Type 131 predominated in Poland and was also frequently found in the German Democratic Republic. In the German Democratic Republic, type 450 was the most frequently found type. Phage patterns not accepted as a type and occurring one country only, were found to predominate in Italy, Hungary, Israel and Sweden. The majority of antibiotic-resistant strains belonged to a limited number of phage types only.