Salmonella enterica in Northern Italy: Insights from a Historical Collection

Historical microbiological collections linked to epidemiological and clinical metadata represent a valuable resource for retrospective investigation of long-term changes in pathogen populations. In this retrospective study, we analyzed the epidemiological, clinical, and microbiological information recorded in the datasheets accompanying Salmonella enterica isolates archived in a historical collection assembled in Lombardy, Italy, between 2001 and 2016. Overall, metadata associated with 6624 salmonellosis cases with confirmed serovar identification were included to describe serovar distribution, bloodstream infections, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns within the collection. Four serovars (S. Typhimurium, S. Enteritidis, S. 1,4,[5],12:i:-, S. Napoli) accounted for approximately 80% of all cases. The relative representation of S. Napoli increased over the study period, whereas S. Choleraesuis showed the highest proportion of bloodstream isolates and predominantly affected adults. Overall, resistance to penicillins (46.9%) and tetracyclines (48.0%) was common, whereas resistance to fluoroquinolones (2.9%) and third-generation cephalosporins (<2%) remained low. Among invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) infections, 69.3% of isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial class, and 34.7% exhibited multidrug resistance (MDR), with fluoroquinolone resistance increasing to 13.9%. These findings highlight the value of historical microbiological collections and their associated metadata for documenting long-term changes in serovar distribution, invasive infections, and AMR, while emphasizing their importance as a resource for future molecular epidemiology and One Health surveillance.