EU data shows AMR situation in people and food

The latest data on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria from humans, animals, and foods in Europe has been released.

Resistance to commonly used antimicrobials such as ampicillin, tetracyclines, and sulfonamides remains high in humans and animals for key pathogens like Salmonella and Campylobacter.

The report was published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). It covers 2022 to 2023 AMR monitoring by member states in Salmonella and Campylobacter from humans and food-producing animals such as broilers, laying hens and fattening turkeys, fattening pigs and cattle under 1 year of age and their meat.

The two agencies said the high resistance to ciprofloxacin, a critically important fluoroquinolone antimicrobial to treat Salmonella and Campylobacter infections, is a growing concern. Fluoroquinolones are no longer recommended to treat Campylobacter infections in people.

Resistance results
Salmonella infections tend to be self-limiting, rarely leading to conditions where patients receive antibiotic treatment. Infections in the elderly or people with weakened immune systems are more likely to require treatment as symptoms can become severe and sometimes life-threatening.

The indicator normally used to assess the need for antimicrobial treatment is the type of sample that bacteria was isolated from. If it was found in blood, urine, cerebral spinal fluid, wounds or other normally sterile sites, it means the bacteria has invaded the body and is no longer only confined to the gastrointestinal tract.

In 2023, 8 percent of Salmonella isolates tested for AMR were from either blood, urine, pus or spinal fluid, indicating patients had infections that needed antibiotic treatment. This amounts to several thousand patients in Europe annually.

In Salmonella isolates from humans in 2023, overall resistance to ciprofloxacin was 21.8 percent, with the lowest levels in Salmonella Derby and monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium and high to extremely high levels in Salmonella Infantis and Salmonella Kentucky. In Salmonella Enteritidis, the most common type detected in humans, resistance was 30.1 percent.

Resistance to ciprofloxacin is increasing in Salmonella Enteritidis and Campylobacter jejuni from humans in more than half of the European countries that submitted data.

Resistance to other critically important antimicrobials used in human medicine remains uncommon for Salmonella and Campylobacter, both for humans and food-producing animals.

The proportion of isolates resistant to the last-line antimicrobials azithromycin and tigecycline was overall low in Salmonella isolates from humans. For cefotaxime and ceftazidime, representing third- generation cephalosporins, resistance levels were generally low.

Nearly half of the European countries that submitted data indicated a decline in resistance of Campylobacter to macrolide antibiotics in human cases. Also resistance of Salmonella Typhimurium isolates from humans to penicillins and tetracyclines has decreased.

Multi-drug resistance
Resistance to erythromycin, belonging to macrolides, was very low to low in Campylobacter jejuni from humans but was higher in Campylobacter coli. Macrolides are now the main class of antibiotics used as first-line treatment for Campylobacter infections.

For Campylobacter isolates tested for AMR in 2023, 1.5 percent were from blood. Campylobacter does not cause invasive infections as often as Salmonella but it is responsible for almost double the number of cases. Estimates show almost 2,300 campylobacteriosis cases would have needed antimicrobial treatment in 2023.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) was overall moderate among Salmonella in humans ranging from low levels in Salmonella Enteritidis to very high in monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium and extremely high in Salmonella Kentucky. MDR is defined as resistance to three or more antimicrobial classes.

MDR was generally very low for Campylobacter jejuni isolated from humans but higher for Campylobacter coli.

Carlos Das Neves, EFSA chief scientist, and Piotr Kramarz, ECDC chief scientist, said: “Robust surveillance systems, prudent antimicrobial use, and cross-sector collaboration are critical to mitigate the risk posed by antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can spread between animals and humans.”

Other measures include improving infection prevention and control, investing in research for new treatments, and implementing national policies to combat resistance.

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Source: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2025/03/eu-data-shows-amr-situation-in-people-and-food/