Abstract
In this study, 23 Salmonella isolates were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from human fecal samples obtained during 2010 from local hospitals and clinical laboratories in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The bacteria were cultured, serotyped and biochemically characterized by the analytical profiling index (API 20E). The invA and hilA gene primers were selected specifically for the detection of Salmonella to amplify a 284 and 845 bp DNA fragments, respectively. Only 3 isolates out of 23 were not identified or typed neither by API 20E nor serological tests. One of these isolates (S5) had 98% sequence similarity with the invA gene sequences of Salmonella typhimurium strain LT2, 14028S and SL1344. The results showed that invA or hilA PCRs specificity was 66.6% compared to API 20E and serology for Salmonella enterica identification in clinical specimens. The PCR assays compared to both biochemical and serological tests were able to specifically detect all of 23 Salmonella isolates (100% sensitivity).