Abstract

In 1999 the incidence of multiple drug resistance (to four or more antimicrobials) in non-typhoidal salmonellas from humans in England and Wales fell in isolations of Salmonella enterica serotypes Typhimurium, Virchow, and Hadar. This fall has been most noticeable in S. Typhimurium, where 59% of isolates were multiresistant compared to 81% in 1996. The main reason for this has been a 75% decline in isolations of multiply-resistant S. Typhimurium definitive phage type (DT) 104 (MR DT104) since 1996. Nevertheless MR DT104 remains second to S. Enteritidis phage type 4 as the most common strain in cases of human salmonellosis in England and Wales. Multiple resistance has also remained high in S. Hadar, with 49% of isolates resistant to four drugs or more compared to 56% in 1996. Isolates with decreased sensitivity to ciprofloxacin (minimal inhibitory concentration: 0.25-1.0 mg/L) have increased in incidence in S. Enteritidis, S. Virchow, and S. Hadar; in S. Hadar 70% of isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin at this level. It is hoped that Codes of Practice introduced by some pharmaceutical companies, governments, professional organisations, and others to combat the unnecessary prophylactic use of fluoroquinolones in animal husbandry will not result in a reduction in the incidence of resistance to ciprofloxacin in salmonella organisms causing infections in humans.