Salmonella And Antibiotic Resistance
The recent Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak linked to ground turkey has been characterized by an alarming discovery. The strain of Salmonella that has sickened 77 people in 26 states and killed one is, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "resistant to many commonly prescribed antibiotics; this antibiotic resistance can increase the risk of hospitalization or possible treatment failure in infected individuals."
The topic of drug-resistant Salmonella is not limited to this outbreak. Recently, CBS News reported on another strain called Salmonella Kentucky. A recent European study published in the Journal of Infectious Disease shows that it is resistant to common antibiotics. According to the report, the pathogen made nearly 500 people sick between 2000 and 2008 in France, England, Wales and Denmark. It was usually associated with chicken. According to study author Dr. Simon Le Hello, of the Pasteur Institute in France:
"We hope that this publication might stir awareness among national and international health, food, and agricultural authorities so that they take the necessary measures to control and stop the dissemination of this strain before it spreads globally, as did another multidrug-resistant strain of Salmonella, Typhimurium DT104, starting in the 1990s."
The study recommends that International public health surveillance systems are needed to limit the spread of such multidrug-resistant organisms.
