b Laboratory-based in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing is the foundation for guiding anti-infective therapy and monitoring antimicrobial resistance trends. We used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) technology to identify known antimicrobial resistance determinants among strains of nontyphoidal Salmonella and correlated these with susceptibility phenotypes to evaluate the utility of WGS for antimicrobial resistance surveillance. Six hundred forty Salmonella of 43 different serotypes were selected from among retail meat and human clinical isolates that were tested for susceptibility to 14 antimicrobials using broth microdilution. The MIC for each drug was used to categorize isolates as susceptible or resistant based on Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute clinical breakpoints or National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) consensus interpretive criteria. Each isolate was subjected to whole-genome shotgun sequencing, and resistance genes were identified from assembled sequences. A total of 65 unique resistance genes, plus mutations in two structural resistance loci, were identified. There were more unique resistance genes (n ‫؍‬ 59) in the 104 human isolates than in the 536 retail meat isolates (n ‫؍‬ 36). Overall, resistance genotypes and phenotypes correlated in 99.0% of cases. Correlations approached 100% for most classes of antibiotics but were lower for aminoglycosides and beta-lactams. We report the first finding of extended-spectrum ␤-lactamases (ESBLs) (bla CTX-M1 and bla SHV2a ) in retail meat isolates of Salmonella in the United States. Whole-genome sequencing is an effective tool for predicting antibiotic resistance in nontyphoidal Salmonella, although the use of more appropriate surveillance breakpoints and increased knowledge of new resistance alleles will further improve correlations.

WGS can provide comprehensive resistance genotypes and is capable of accurately predicting resistance phenotypes, making it a valuable tool for surveillance. Moreover, the data presented here showing the ability to accurately predict resistance suggest that WGS may be used as a screening tool in selecting anti-infective therapy, especially as costs drop and methods improve.

Bacteria of the genus are important human pathogens that are frequently resistant to a number of clinically important antibiotics. They are also used as markers of animal fecal contamination of human foods and are employed as sentinel organisms for tracking trends in resistance to antimicrobials with Gram-positive activity. As part of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), we evaluated several retail meat commodities for the presence of enterococci from 2002 to 2014, and we found 92.0% to be contaminated. The majority of isolates were either (64.0%) or (28.6%), and the antimicrobial resistance of each isolate was assessed by broth microdilution. The resistance prevalences for several drugs, including erythromycin and gentamicin, were significantly higher among poultry isolates, compared to retail beef or pork isolates. None of the isolates was resistant to the clinically important human drug vancomycin, only 1 isolate was resistant to linezolid, and resistance to tigecycline was below 1%. In contrast, a majority of both (67.5%) and (53.7%) isolates were resistant to tetracycline. Overall, the robust NARMS testing system employed consistent sampling practices and methods throughout the testing period, with the only significant trend in resistance prevalence being decreased resistance to penicillin. These data provide excellent baseline levels of resistance that can be used to measure future changes in resistance prevalence that may result from alterations in the use of antimicrobials in food animal production. Enterococci, including and, are present in the guts of food-producing animals and are used as a measure of fecal contamination of meat. We used the large consistent sampling methods of NARMS to assess the prevalence of strains isolated from retail meats, and we found over 90% of meats to be contaminated with enterococci. We also assessed the resistance of the strains, commonly used as a measure of resistance to agents with Gram-positive activity, in foods. Resistance prevalence was over 25% for some antimicrobials and sample sources but was less than 1% for several of the most important therapeutic agents used in human medicine.