Illegal use of nitrofurans in food animals: contribution to human salmonellosis?

Abstract

Recent observations in Portugal of a remarkable incidence (65%) of Salmonella isolates from several sources (predominantly human and poultry) with decreased susceptibility to nitrofurantoin (MIC ++64 mg⁄ L), mostly comprising serogroup D isolates of Salmonella Enteritidis belonging to different phage types, suggest that illegal use of nitrofurans, especially in the poultry industry, might have contributed to the selection and prevalence of S. Enteritidis in food animals, and consequently to human salmonellosis in Portugal. Indiscriminate use of nitrofurans might also be implicated in the emergence of two multiresistant Salmonella Typhimurium clones disseminated throughout the country.