Genomic Surveillance of Salmonella Paratyphi A: Neglected No More?

More than 1000 Salmonella Paratyphi A isolates have been sequenced from South Asia in the past 2 years. An open-access tool, Paratype, has been developed to track genotypes and antimicrobial resistance. However, genomic data are still limited from sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and South America. Salmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi A, the causative agent of paratyphoid fever, is a neglected tropical disease with a high burden and mortality in low- and middle-income countries. Limited information is available regarding its genomic diversity, especially from South Asian countries that are collectively responsible for >80% of all paratyphoid cases. At the 2021 International Conference on Typhoid and Other Salmonelloses, researchers from the around the globe presented their work on Salmonella Paratyphi A genomics. Presentations described recent genomic data from South Asia and the development of Paratype, an open-access single-nucleotide polymorphism-based genotyping scheme, to segregate Salmonella Paratyphi A genomes in a systematic and sustainable manner. In this review, we attempt to summarize the progress made thus far on Salmonella Paratyphi A genomics and discuss the questions that remain to better understand the pathogen and develop interventions to fight it.

Automated summary

In the past 2 years, more than 1000 Salmonella Paratyphi A isolates have been sequenced from South Asia. An open-access tool called Paratype has been developed to track genotypes and antimicrobial resistance. However, there is still limited genomic data available from sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and South America.