[Serotypes of Salmonella enterica in sewage effluent from Zaragoza. Comparison with clinical isolates. 1982-1989]

Between 1982 and 1989, 560 Salmonella enterica strains belonging to 63 serovars, were isolated from Zaragoza urban sewage. During the same period of time there were 45 different serovars isolated from faeces of patients from a hospital (in the same city). Only a reduced number of serovars comprised the majority of the human and environmental isolates. An approximately rectilinear relationship is shown between the isolated strains number and the number of different serovars, in non human Salmonella strains. In clinical isolates, we have not found this relation. We have compared the local results with those reported in other different Spanish regions.