This work aimed to use conventional PCR to identify Salmonella spp. that were isolated from diarrheal children and healthy and diarrheic dogs based on four virulence genes, hilA, stn, spvR, and marT. Sixteen Salmonella isolates including: 9 isolated from children's diarrhea from three species (S. Typhimurium, S. Enteritidis, S. Typhi) and seven isolated from dogs including (S. Typhimurium, S. Enteritidis, S. Muenchen), were identified primarily by several methods. The PCR products of the 16S rRNA gene were sequenced and examined using BLAST analysis to find differences and similarities between these Iraqi isolates and already-known global strains in order to construct the phylogenetic tree of S. Muenchen which was detected for the first time in dogs in Iraq. The results of the study revealed that all isolates of Salmonella obtained from children possess the hilA and stn genes. The marT gene was detected in 88% of the Salmonella serovars, and the spvR gene was carried in 55% of the isolates. Among dog Salmonella isolates, the hilA gene was detected at 100%, the stn gene was at 85.7%, the marT gene was present at 71.4%, while the spvR gene was found at 57.1%. The result of DNA sequencing and phylogenetic tree indicated that the local Iraqi S. Muenchen was extremely close to the national strain and share the same 16S rRNA gene sequence, the isolate was registered at NCBI and became a global reference with the accession number OQ999043.1. In conclusion, the presence of these important virulence genes among Salmonella serovars isolated from children and dogs alerted on the potential risk of contamination of the environment and may lead to a community health crisis.
