Epidemiological Data, Serovar Distribution and Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns of Salmonella Species in Children, Greece 2011-2017: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

<p class="Default"><strong><span>Objective. </span></strong><span>This study aimed to describe <em>Salmonella </em>epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance in Greek children over the pe­riod of 2011-2017. </span></p><p class="Default"><strong><span>Materials and Methods. </span></strong><span>A 7-year retrospective study (2011-2017) was performed, based on data recorded by the National Reference Centre for </span><em><span>Salmonella</span></em><span>, among children aged ≤14 years. Epidemiological data, serovar distribution and antimicrobial resistance patterns were recorded. </span></p><p class="Default"><strong><span>Results. </span></strong><span>Overall, 2347 <em>Salmonella </em>isolates were collected (27 typhoid-paratyphoid). Salmonellosis cases increased by almost 2-fold in 2017 compared to 2011. The highest rates were reported in August, with infants being the most vulnerable group (17.9%). The majority of isolates were identified in stool samples (91%). Boys slightly outnumbered girls (~1.05:1). <em>Salmonella Enteritidis </em>was the most prevalent serovar (28.5%), followed by <em>Salmo­nella Typhimurium </em>(12.2%) and <em>Salmonella monophasic Typhimurium </em>(10.4%). Non-typhoid isolates displayed low resistance rates to 3</span><span class="A13"><span>rd </span></span><span>generation cephalosporins (1%) and ciprofloxacin (0.3%), while the corresponding resistance of typhoid isolates was 10% and 5% respectively. An increasing trend of <em>Salmonella monophasic Typhimurium </em>was recorded, associated with high rates of multidrug resistance, reaching a percentage of 97.8% in 2017.</span></p><p class="Default"><strong><span>Conclusions. </span></strong><span>Salmonellosis epidemiology in Greek chil­dren is comparable to previously published European data. Antimicrobial resistance rates to 3</span><span class="A13"><span>rd</span></span><span>-generation cephalosporins and ciprofloxacin for non-typhoid and typhoid-paratyphoid remain low. Notably, there is an increasing prevalence of <em>Salmonella monophasic Typhimurium </em>isolates, associated with multiple antimicrobial resistance.</span></p>

Topics & Concepts