title: Antibiotic-resistant gram negative bacilli in meals delivered at a general hospital, Italy.
abstract: This study aimed at detecting the presence of antibiotic-resistant Gram-negatives in samples of meals delivered at the University General Hospital of Palermo, Italy. Antibiotic resistant Gram negatives were isolated in July-September 2007 ffrom cold dishes and food contact surfaces and utensils. Bacterial strains were submitted to susceptibility test and subtyped by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Forty-six of 55 (83.6%) food samples and 14 of 17 (82.3%) environmental swabs were culture positive for Gram negative bacilli resistant to at least one group of antibacterial drugs. A total of 134 antibiotic resistant strains, 51 fermenters and 83 non-fermenters, were recovered. Fermenters and non-fermenters showed frequencies as high as 97.8% of resistance to two or more groups of antibiotics and non fermenters were 28.9% resistant to more than three groups. Molecular typing detected 34 different profiles among the fermenters and 68 among the non-fermenters. Antibiotic resistance was very common among both fermenters and non-fermenters. However, the wide heterogeneity of RAPD patterns seems to support a prominent role of cross-contamination rather than a clonal expansion of a few resistant isolates. A contribution of commensal Gram negatives colonizing foods to a common bacterial resistance pool should not been overlooked.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sciences for Health Promotion "G. D'Alessandro," University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Rosa Anna
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Plano
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Di Noto
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Firenze
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sciortino
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mammina