Food germs increasingly antibiotic-resistant

02/27/2015

Antibiotic-resistant food-borne germs are a growing problem, according to the latest report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the ECDC (European Center for Disease Prevention and Control). "Due to the increasing resistance of bacterial species (so-called" isolates ") to antimicrobial agents," fewer options are available to treat some of the most common food-borne infections ", according to the EFSA Communication.

According to the experts, Salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria show considerable resistance to common antibiotics in humans and animals. The spread of multidrug-resistant Salmonella isolates continues to progress across Europe and several Member States have also shown high resistance of Campylobacter isolates to the antimicrobial agent ciprofloxacin. Accordingly, significant restrictions on the treatment options for corresponding infections.

Multi-resistant germs on broilers
According to the current EU report, Salmonella has a proportion of multidrug-resistant isolates of almost 32 percent in humans, 56 percent in broilers, 73 percent in turkeys and around 38 percent in fattening pigs. "The sustained spread of particularly multi-drug resistant clones reported for human and animal isolates is worrying," warns ESFA. According to the authorities, the isolates of Campylobacter bacteria showed increased resistance to common antibiotics, especially in humans and broilers. In Campylobacter jejuni, more than half of the isolates of humans (54.6 percent) and broilers (54.5 percent) had been resistant. "Two thirds of human and broiler isolates (66.6% and 68.8%, respectively) were resistant to Campylobacter coli," the ESFA continues.

Resistance reduces the treatment options
"The high resistance to fluoroquinolones in Campylobacter isolates from humans and broilers is worrying given that much of the human Campylobacter infection is due to the handling, preparation and consumption of chicken," said Mike Catchpole, senior scientist at the ECDC, to the study results. "Such high levels of resistance reduce the options for effectively treating severe Campylobacter infections in humans," the expert continues. The EU report also outlines resistance to Escherichia coli and enterococci as well as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Different development of resistance in the individual countries
While a significant increase in resistance has been observed across Europe, individual countries have performed relatively well. This applies, for example, to Austria, where the most common type of Salmonella (Salmonella enteritidis) still responds to 90 percent on antibiotics, while in Spain there are only about 40 percent, reports the news agency "APA". Overall, however, the trend towards increased antibiotic resistance in common food germs remains questionable. The only positive news from the current report remains that "for both bacteria, co-resistance to antimicrobials remains critically important," said the ESFA. (Fp)