Background: We performed a retrospective study of Salmonella spp. strains, as well as of serotypes and resistance to antimicrobial agents that could be useful in salmonellosis requiring antibiotic treatment.
Material and methods: All Salmonella strains isolated in a maternity-children's hospital in Barcelona (Spain) during a 10-year period (1992-2001) were serotyped. The susceptibility of the strains isolated from 1994 to ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, chloramphenicol, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and cefotaxime was analyzed. Ciprofloxacin substituted chloramphenicol in the analysis of strains isolated during the last 2 years of the study period.
Results and discussion: A total of 860 isolates from 31 distinct serotypes were analyzed. The most frequent serotypes were S. enteritidis (48.7 %), S. typhimurium (33.4 %), S. virchow (5 %), S. hadar (1.8 %) and S. typhi (1.5 %). We found a high percentage of strains resistant to ampicillin (44.6 % in 2001) and chloramphenicol (28.7 % in 1999) and a lower percentage of strains resistant to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (2.2 % and 6.5 % respectively, among the strains isolated in 2001). Only one cefotaxime-resistant strain was found, and all isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin. Our results provide useful epidemiological information for the control of these infections, which remain a serious public health problem all over the world.