Prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of Salmonella isolated from foods in Korea from 1993 to 2001.

This study determined the prevalence of Salmonella in foods widely consumed in Korea from 1993 to 2001, along with antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Salmonella isolates from these foods for 11 antibiotics. Overall, 41 Salmonella isolates, representing 15 serotypes, were obtained from 2.2% (29 of 1,334) of the samples examined, and most of the Salmonella isolates were recovered from broiler carcasses. The most common serotypes were Salmonella Enteritidis (29.3%), Salmonella Virginia (14.6%), and Salmonella Haart (12.2%). All isolates were screened for antibiotic resistance; 14.6% of the isolates were susceptible to all of the antibiotics, 4.9% were resistant to one antimicrobial agent, 14.6% were resistant to two antimicrobial agents, 22.0% were resistant to three antimicrobial agents, 39.0% were resistant to four antimicrobial agents, and 4.9% were resistant to five antimicrobial agents. Most of the isolates showed resistance or intermediate resistance to streptomycin, ampicillin, carbenicillin, and/or tetracycline.