LONDON (Reuters) Aug 03 - Scientists have identified an emerging "superbug" strain of Salmonella that is highly resistant to ciprofloxacin, and they fear it may spread around the world.
The strain, S. enterica serotype Kentucky, has spread internationally with 489 cases found in France, Denmark, England and Wales in the period between 2002 (three cases) and 2008 (174 cases), according a report online today in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
French researchers who led the study also looked at data from North America and said reports of infection in Canada and contamination of imported foods in the United States suggest the strain has also reached there.
The study, by Dr. Francois-Xavier Weill and Dr. Simon Le Hello from the Institut Pasteur and colleagues, was published as U.S. health officials reported a multi-state outbreak of another antibiotic-resistant S. Heidelberg, which has so far made 77 people sick and killed one (see Reuters Health report of August 2, 2011).
The French team said the earliest infections seemed to have been picked up mainly in Egypt between 2002 and 2005, but since 2006 the infections have also been acquired in various parts of Africa and the Middle East.
"The absence of reported international travel in approximately 10% of the patients suggests that infections may have also occurred in Europe through consumption of contaminated imported foods or through secondary contaminations," they wrote.
Multi drug-resistant S. enterica serotype Kentucky was also isolated from chickens and turkeys from Ethiopia, Morocco, and Nigeria, suggesting "poultry is an important agent for infection" the researchers said, adding the common use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics in chicken and turkey production in Nigeria and Morocco "may have contributed to this rapid spread."
They said the study highlights the importance of public health surveillance in a global food system.
"We hope that this publication might stir awareness among national and international health, food and agricultural authorities so that they take the necessary measures to control and stop the dissemination of this strain before it spreads globally," the researchers said.
J Infect Dis 2011.
