健康英语新闻:New study identifies emergence of multidrug-resistant strain of salmonella

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- A new study has identified the recent emergence of a multidrug-resistant strain of Salmonella that has a high level resistance to ciprofloxacin, a common treatment for severe Salmonella infections. The study was published on-line Tuesday in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Francois-Xavier Weill at the Pasteur Institute in France and colleagues studied information from national surveillance systems in France, England and Wales, Denmark, and the United States. The data showed that a multidrug-resistant strain of Salmonella, known as S. Kentucky, infected 489 patients in France, England and Wales, and Denmark between 2000 and 2008. In addition, researchers reported that the first infections were acquired mainly in Egypt between 2002 and 2005, while since 2006 the infections have also been acquired in various parts of Africa and the Middle East. The absence of reported international travel in approximately 10 percent of the patients suggests that infections may have also occurred in Europe through consumption of contaminated imported foods or through secondary contaminations.

In this study, multidrug-resistant S. Kentucky was isolated from chickens and turkeys from Ethiopia, Morocco, and Nigeria, suggesting that poultry is an important agent for infection. The common use of fluoroquinolones in chicken and turkey production in Nigeria and Morocco may have contributed to this rapid spread, according to the researchers.

This study highlights the importance of public health surveillance in a global food system. The investigators reported that they will continue to monitor this multidrug-resistant strain as well as help strengthen the capacities of national and regional laboratories in the surveillance of Salmonella and other major foodborne pathogens through the World Health Organization Global Foodborne Infections Network.

Salmonella infection represents a major public health problem worldwide. An estimated 1.7 million such infections occur in North America each year. More than 1.6 million cases were reported between 1999 and 2008 in 27 European countries. Although most Salmonella infections produce only mild gastroenteritis, elderly and immunocompromised patients are especially at risk for life- threatening infections. These cases are typically treated with antimicrobials called fluoroquinolones, such as ciprofloxacin.