Worldwide Outbreak of Highly Antibiotic-Resistant Salmonella Risks Spreading to European Poultry Farms

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In a study published online May 28th for the Lancet Infectious Diseases medical journal, scientists at the Institut Pasteur in Paris and the Institut Pasteur in Morocco once again bring attention to the rapid worldwide spread of Salmonella Kentucky (S. Kentucky), a bacterium showing resistance to several classes of antibiotics. S. Kentucky is responsible for foodborne infections and has spread at an astonishing rate throughout Africa and the Middle East in the space of only a few years. In this study, the authors note that the bacterium has recently spread to India and South-East Asia and has acquired new resistance, particularly resistance to antibiotics of “last resort”. The scientists also point out the considerable risk of this multi-resistant strain spreading to farmed poultry in industrialized countries. This bacterium has already been detected in farmed turkeys in Europe.

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