title: The antibiotic resistance patterns of Salmonella Typhi isolates in Italy, 1980-96. The Italian SALM-NET Working Group. Salmonella Network.
abstract: In this paper we report the distribution of Salmonella Typhi isolates in Italy and their resistance patterns to antibiotics. The data were collected by the Italian SALM-NET surveillance system in a pilot retrospective study of the period 1980-96. Data on drug-resistance were available for 82 isolates out of 176 S. Typhi isolated in Italy. Of these 82 isolates, 32 (39%) were resistant or intermediate to 1 or more antibiotics. Eight isolates were resistant and 7 intermediate to streptomycin; 4 isolates were resistant to ampicillin alone or in association with other antibiotics; only 2 strains (1 isolated in Lombardia in 1993 and the other 1 in Lazio in 1994) were resistant to chloramphenicol, and 2 (isolated in Sardegna and Piemonte in 1995 and 1996, respectively) showed intermediate resistance to chloramphenicol. The strains showing resistance to 3 or more antibiotics were very scarce: 1 (with 5 complete resistances) was isolated in Lazio in 1994, and another 1 (with complete resistance to 10 antibiotics and intermediate resistance to 2 antibiotics) was isolated in Molise in 1988. In conclusion, besides the routine activities to control typhoid fever, an accurate and continuous surveillance is necessary in order to quickly identify multidrug-resistant (MDR) S. Typhi strains and prevent their spread, even though their level, in our country, is still quite low.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scuderi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fantasia
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Niglio
mesh_terms: D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D018432:Drug Resistance, Multiple; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012485:Salmonella typhi / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012703:Serotyping; D014435:Typhoid Fever / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control