O-I phage lysis in Salmonella species in India.

A total of 794 Salmonella strains, of 26 serotypes prevalent in India, were examined for sensitivity to O-I phage. Of 597 Salm. typhi strains, 13.6% proved resistant to phage lysis. Other serotypes which contained resistant strains are Salm. anatum, Salm. paratyphi A, Salm. typhimurium, Salm. chester, Salm. colombo and Salm. matopeni. The specificity of O-I phage lysis against other Enterobacteriaceae was also tested. The results of the study suggest that resistance to O-I phage lysis in Salmonella is more frequent than earlier studies have indicated, and that O-I phage lysis is highly specific for salmonellae and should be useful for the detection of new Salmonella serotypes.