[Serotypes and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Salmonella strains isolated from food in Cuba]

The serotypes of 178 isolates of Salmonella enterica taken from food in different regions of Cuba between January 2008 and December 2009 were identified, and the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of 100 selected isolates was determined by strata sampling. A total of 20 Salmonella serotypes were identified, with a predominance of S. Enteritidis (23%), S. Agona (13.5%), and S. London (11.2%). Of all the strains, 75% were resistant or presented intermediate resistance to at least one of the drugs tested, in the following order: tetracycline (70.7%), ampicillin (22.7%), and nalidixic acid (14.7%). Ten different resistance patterns were identified. The most frequent patterns corresponded to strains that were either drug-resistant or had intermediate resistance (89.3%). Three strains (identified as S. Infantis, S. Derby, and S. Enteritidis) were multiresistant, and one of them, S. Enteritidis, was not sensitive to either nalidixic acid or ciprofloxacin. To control salmonellosis, the importance of maximizing integrated health surveillance is emphasized.