Prevalence, Antimicrobial Resistance, Virulence Genes and Genetic Diversity of Isolated from Retail Duck Meat in Southern China.

is an important cause of foodborne diseases. This study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence, serotype distribution, antimicrobial resistance, virulence genes, and genetic diversity of isolates recovered from fresh duck meat obtained from retail markets in Southern China. In total, 365 samples of fresh duck meat were collected from retail markets in six different cities of Guangdong Province between May 2017 and April 2019. High levels of contamination were detected in duck meat (151/365, 41.4%). Twenty-six different serotypes were identified: Corvallis ( = 25, 16.6%), Kentucky ( = 22, 14.6%) and . Agona ( = 20, 13.3%) were the most prevalent serotypes. All isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic and 133 (88.1%) isolates exhibited multidrug resistance (MDR). Most (86.1%) isolates carried seven classes of virulence-associated genes. This study showed the diversity of serotypes and genotypes and the high prevalence of MDR isolates carrying multiple virulence-associated genes among isolates from duck meat obtained from retail markets in Southern China. Isolates from different districts had similar pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns indicating that circulating foodborne constitutes a potential public health issue across different districts.