3.4. PFGE
All 165 isolates in this study were subjected to PFGE analysis. The
resultant dendrogram of isolate patterns exhibited clusters with a
high level of diversity; only the PFGE patterns of a small number of
isolates from different parts in the food chain were genetically related
(data not shown). Several reports have shown that clonal groups
could be transmitted along the food chain and represent a hazard to
human health (Hauser et al., 2011, 2012; Nogrady et al., 2008). The
current study indicated that the phenomenon of Salmonella transmis-
sion along the food chain does exist in Sichuan Province. The diversity
of PFGE patterns in this study may be due to either of the two reasons:
first, different clones of Salmonella are distributed across different parts
of the food chain in Sichuan Province; and second, that the sam ples col-
lected were not correlative along the food chain.