Animal Husbandry and Feed Science ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (2): 107-115.doi: 10.12160/j.issn.1672-5190.2026.02.014

• Animal Disease Prevention and Control • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Isolation, Identification, Drug Resistance and Virulence Analysis of Salmonella from Ticks Parasitizing Grazing Sheep in Emin County

ZHANG Xu1, HE Yongqiang1, GUO Huilin1, ZHU Tingting1,2, TANG Yuhao1, LI Jing1, DENG Yuanping1, QI Meng1   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Tarim University, Aral 843300, China;
    2. Agricultural Science Institute of the Ninth Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Emin 834601, China
  • Received:2025-12-11 Online:2026-03-30 Published:2026-06-25

Abstract: [Objective] To investigate the drug resistance and pathogenicity of Salmonella from ticks in grazing sheep in Emin County of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. [Methods] Ten live ticks were collected from the body surface of grazing sheep in Emin County. Morphological methods were used to identify the tick species. Bacteriological culture was employed to isolate the pathogenic bacteria in ticks. Morphological identification and molecular biology methods were applied to identify the isolated strains. The Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was used to perform drug susceptibility testing on the isolated strains. PCR amplification was employed to detect the carriage of drug resistance genes and virulence genes. [Results] Through morphological observation of ticks, 10 ticks were all female Hyalomma asiaticum. Three strains of Salmonella were isolated from 10 ticks based on morphological observation, biochemical tests and molecular biological identification, and were designated as isolate 1, isolate 2 and isolate 3, respectively, with an isolation rate of 30.0% (3/10). The results of drug susceptibility testing showed that isolate 1 was resistant to streptomycin and meropenem, isolate 2 was resistant to meropenem, ertapenem and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and isolate 3 was resistant to amikacin and meropenem. All three isolates carried qnrS, qnrA, sul1, sul2 and aadA1 resistance genes. A total of 10 virulence genes were detected, and all isolates carried rck, spvB, sopE virulence genes. [Conclusion] Salmonella from H. asiaticum in grazing sheep in Emin County have certain drug resistance and pathogenic risks. The research results provide data support for the study of tick-borne pathogens.

Key words: Salmonella, isolation, identification, drug resistance, virulence genes, ticks

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