Molecular tools for epidemiological investigations of S. enterica subspecies enterica infections.

Salmonella infection is one of the most prevalent reported food-borne diseases in industrialised countries, most often associated with eating contaminated eggs, poultry and pork. Traditionally, epidemiological investigations for Salmonella enterica have been based on phenotypic characteristics. However, the predominance of certain phenotypes within hosts or locations makes further epidemiological subgrouping necessary. The combination of conventional and molecular epidemiology data is yielding important insights into the understanding of the epidemiology of many infectious diseases, although at present there is no consensus on which molecular method is best suited for intraserotype differentiation within S. enterica. This paper reviews the current methodology for some of the most prevalent animal and human-associated serotypes.