Germana Carillo Recent data show that many bacteria continue to be resistant to common antibiotics such as ampicillin, tetracyclines and sulfonamides, both in humans and animals. This is especially true for bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter
The emerging ciprofloxacin resistance, which is the key antibiotic for treating Salmonella and Campylobacter infections, is an increasingly emerging issue. An increase in the resistance of Salmonella enteritidis and Campylobacter jejuni among humans has been observed in more than half of the European countries that have provided data.
These are findings from a recent report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Resistance to this antibiotic is also very high in food production-raised animals, particularly in Campylobacter, Salmonella, and E. coli from poultry. This is worrying because the World Health Organization has included non-typhoidal salmonella resistant to fluoroquinolones on its 2024 high-priority list of health threats.
Some good news amidst growing concern
But there is some reassuring news too: resistance to other antibiotics essential to human medicine is still uncommon in both Salmonella and Campylobacter, either in humans or in farm animals.
While resistance to carbapenems (a group of very powerful antibiotics) is still quite uncommon, occasional resistant E. coli have been obtained from food and animals. This is something to be worried about as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales are a major public health threat. To examine this further, EFSA will release a detailed report in 2025 on the spread of these bacteria within Europe’s food chain.
Luckily, the research also points to encouraging trends:
- Resistance to macrolide antibiotics in Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli in humans has fallen in almost half of the European Union countries.
- Resistance of Salmonella Typhimurium to antibiotics like penicillins and tetracyclines has reduced over the years.
- In the last 10 years, most EU nations have experienced a decline in antimicrobial resistance in food-producing animals.
They may be baby steps, but antibiotic resistance is an ominous public health threat.
