This study applied the Cronobacter spp. multilocus sequence typing (MLST) scheme to three strain collections, then known as Enterobacter sakazakii, which had been isolated between 1988 and 2009 from 14 countries. The results revealed the predominance (85%) of C. 29 sakazakii (72 strains) in all three collections. The remaining strains were C. turicensis (10%), C. malonaticus (4%), and C. muytjensii (1%). No strains of C. dublinensis, C. universalis or C. condimenti were identified. Twenty-one out of seventy two C. sakazakii strains were in the clinically significant ST4 clonal complex, and were found in all three strain collections. These results confirm C. sakazakii ST4 is one of the predominant clonal complexes over the past 20 years in several parts of the world. Further understanding of the ecosystem and sources of the organism may be used for the development of improved intervention strategies in the dairy industry
