Antimicrobial susceptibilitiy of Salmonella spp. strains isolated from layer hens in Campania regione from 2000 to 2003

The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobial resistance in 60 Salmonella strains (S. enteritidis, S. thyphimurium, S. gallinarum) isolated from layer hens in Campania region from 2000 to 2003. S. gallinarum showed resistance against ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin, in contrast, S. enteritidis and S. typhimurium were fully susceptibile. In all of isolates high levels of resistance were observed for neomycin, gentamicin and oxytetracycline. Also, one significant observation was that all of the isolates showed full susceptibility to Sulphamethoxazole/Trimethoprime. These results suggest importance to restrict the use of antibiotics in layers hens flocks in order to reduce the selection and spread of multiresistant strains.