Molecular Characterization of Salmonella Species Isolates from Some Hospitals in Jos, Nigeria

The conventional methods of identification of Salmonella involving microbiological enrichment and successive identification mostly are tedious, time consuming and not specific. Therefore, the aim of this study was to utilize molecular techniques to characterize Salmonella species isolates from some Hospitals in Jos, Nigeria. The 10 isolates collected from some Hospitals in Jos, Nigeria were screened for Salmonella using conventional biochemical methods. The positive isolates were identified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for discernment of invasion A (invA) gene at explicit molecular size (284 bp) utilizing explicit primers (forward and reverse). Sequencing of the invA gene was performed and the similarities and differences between our invA gene and published sequences on GenBank were assessed. Seven out of ten confirmed Salmonella species isolates were positive to the invA gene while the remaining three were negative. The homology level of nucleotide sequence (97.746%) demonstrated high similitude between the local isolates and the other sequences on GenBank. Molecular characterization of the Salmonella isolates provides data about the virulence of the pathogen just as its relatedness to different organisms which offer data about the genome of the organisms and are helpful for epidemiological examinations. Therefore, Molecular methods which enable the detection of virulent genes are extremely important surveillance tools that are required to assist in curbing the escalation of infections caused by Salmonella.