Resistance to chemioantibiotics of Salmonella strains isolated from people employed in food production and distribution in 1982.

From healthy carriers, working in the alimentation field in the milanese area 2144 serotypes of Salmonella have been isolated in 1982, on which sensitivity towards 19 chemioantibiotics has been tested selecting them among those mostly employed in therapy. A remarkable resistance of isolated strains has been observed towards streptomycin (91.77%) and rifampicin (82.00%) and a low resistance towards sisomycin (1.21%) and cefotaxime (1.30%). 402 resistance patterns with various degree have been noticed towards up to 11 chemioantibiotics, particularly among Salmonella strains belonging to those of long lasting circulation of B, C and D serological groups. The importance from the epidemiological point of view of the presence of Salmonella strains with multiple resistance among staff working in the alimentation field is stressed, because they may be considered as incubation sites for the appearance of alimentary salmonellosis.