Resistance to ampicillin, third-generation cephalosporins, ciprofloxacin, co-trimoxazole and azithromycin in clinical isolates of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica from Germany: real problem or sporadic circumstance?

The objective of this study was to determine the in vitro activity of ampicillin, third-generation cephalosporins, ciprofloxacin, co-trimoxazole and azithromycin against Salmonella enterica isolates. None of the isolates tested showed resistance to third-generation cephalosporins or azithromycin. The rates of resistance to ampicillin, co-trimoxazole and ciprofloxacin were 16.8%, 3.2% and 0.8%, respectively. Moreover, 7.2% of the isolates showed reduced ciprofloxacin susceptibility, but none of them harboured qnr genes. To conclude, our data show that resistance to fluoroquinolones and third-generation cephalosporins in clinical isolates found in Germany still represents a rare circumstance.