[Transmissive drug resistance and virulence of "epidemic" strains of S. typhimurium].

A total of 59 "epidemic" strains of S. typhimurium and 52 cultures isolated from the cases with sporadic diseases were studied with respect to the nature of their resistance to 10 antibiotics and virulence for albino mice under conditions of subcutaneous and oral inoculation. The virulence of the cultures isolated from the cases with sporadic diseases was higher in the strains sensitive to antibiotics. The "epidemic" strains were characterized by the lowest virulence for the mice and resistance to 8-10 antibiotics simultaneously with the transmissive nature of resistance to 1-5 drugs. The transmissive nature of resistance to antibiotics and its spectrum may serve an additional epidemiological marker of the strains.