[Phage typing of Salmonella enteritidis isolated from clinical, food, and poultry samples in Chile]

Since 1994 an extensive epidemic of infections with Salmonella enteritidis (S. enteritidis) has affected Chile. In order to understand the diversity of infective sources, the possible origin of the epidemic, and the epidemiological relationships between clinical, food, and poultry isolates, we carried out phage typing of three groups of samples: 1) 310 S. enteritidis clinical samples collected between 1975 and 1996, 2) 47 food isolates obtained during S. enteritidis outbreaks, and 3) 27 strains isolated in surveillance studies of poultry-raising establishments. With the clinical samples, a total of 13 phage types were identified, 2 isolates could not be typed, and 1 was considered atypical. The phage types that were identified most frequently were 1 (56.8%) and 4 (31.3%), trailed by type 8 (4.8%) and type 28 (1.9%). Over time and in different regions of the country there were major changes in the distribution of the phage types. In the first years of collection the only phage types registered were 8 and 28, which disappeared around 1980 and then began reappearing sporadically in 1996. With the gradual S. enteritidis expansion that started in 1988, in the central and southern areas of the country phage type 4 began to appear; that type had not been found before in Chile. In 1991 in the northern area of the country phage type 1 began to predominate; it was another type that had not been reported before in Chile. In the food isolates the only phage types identified were 1 and 4, which were also the most common in the poultry isolates. Phage typing of S. enteritidis has proved to be useful in guiding the epidemiological analysis of the infections caused by this pathogen.