High carriage and possible hidden spread of multidrug-resistant Salmonella among asymptomatic workers in Yulin, China.

ABSTRACT: Food workers have frequent contact with unprocessed foods, but their carriage of Salmonella and potential influence on public health have not been comprehensively assessed. We investigated Salmonella carriage among food workers compared with non-food workers based on occupational health screening of 260,315 asymptomatic workers over an 8-year surveillance period in Yulin, China. We confirmed that healthy carriers serve as natural reservoirs for Salmonella, with higher carriage rates in food workers than non-food workers. The isolates from food workers also exhibited greater serovar diversity and likely higher levels of antimicrobial resistance than those from non-food workers. Factors such as meteorological, social, and hygiene factors potentially influenced the carriage rate. Genomic anal

SUBMITTER: Lu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11599845 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature