Multidrug resistance among different serotypes of clinical Salmonella isolates in Taiwan

Of the 798 clinical Salmonella isolates collected from multiple hospitals in Taiwan, resistance to ampicillin (48.5%), chloramphenicol (55.3%), streptomycin (59.0%), sulfamethoxazole (68.0%), and tetracycline (67.8%) was high, whereas resistance to all 5 antimicrobials (ACSSuT R-type) comprised 327 (41%) and was highly prevalent in Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium (72.7%, 176/242), the most common serotype. Additional resistance to trimethoprim was present in 155 (19.4% overall) of the ACSSuT R-type isolates from several serotypes. Reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolone (FQ) (ciprofloxacin MIC >0.125-1 microg/mL and nalidixic acid-resistant) was detected in 223 (27.9%) isolates including 117 (14.7% overall) that were also ACSSuT-resistant. Full resistance to FQ was detected in Salmonella Choleraesuis (35.5%, 6/17) and Salmonella Schwarzengrund (16.7%, 10/60); both serotypes were also multiresistant to other antimicrobials. Studies are needed to determine the sources of different multidrug-resistant serotypes. Continued national surveillance is underway to monitor changes in resistance trends and to detect further emergence of resistant Salmonella serotypes in Taiwan.