[Salmonella strains recently widespread in Italy and its sensitivity to some common antibiotics (author's transl)]

Abstract

A study has been carried out in order to evaluate the sensitivity of a group of some 517 strains of salmonella identified by the Pathogenic Enterobacteria Centre of Central Italy in the biennium 1974-75 to various antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents. As far as the average percentage of sensitivity to the drugs by the strains tested is concerned, the results obtained are indicative of a situation which may be optimistically looked upon as far as our regions are concerned. Some widely used drugs such as chloramphenicol, ampicillin, streptomycin and kanamycin showed a high percentage of activity in vitro towards Salmonellae with the exception of S. wien, whereas gentamicin, co-trimoxazole, nalidixic acid, furoxone and cephradine were more widely active, No substantial differences were found between strains normally present in our regions which are, at present, characterized by a stationary epidemiological situation (S. typhi, S. paratyphi B, S. enteritidis, S. typhi-murium) and sertypes which, having been present in Italy for a long time, appear today to have an increasing diffusion (S. infantis, S. newport, S blockley and S. thompson). As for the Salmonellae of recent appearance and diffusion in Italy (S. panama, S. agona, S. wien) a more resistant pattern of behaviour to various drugs was found; this was particularly remarkable for S. wien which is the last in order of appearance in our population. Finally, the probable reasons for this difference in behaviour are discussed in view of our present knowledge on drug-resistance and on the role played by antibiotics as selective agents at an environmental level.