Diversity of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium recently isolated in the U.S.

Each year non-typhoidal Salmonellae cause an estimated 1.2 million illnesses in the U.S., 80 million illnesses globally, from contaminated food or water. Typhimurium is one of the most common serovars associated with foodborne outbreaks, causing self-limiting gastroenteritis, and in approximately 5% of infected patients systemic infection. Strain diversity and genetic factors contributing to differential human pathogenicity are poorly understood. This study was carried out to assess the diversity of S. Typhimurium recently isolated in the U.S. and to place U.S. strains in a global context.