Transmissible Ampicillin Resistance Existed Before Ampicillin Was Released

Wide use of penicillin G, including in animal feed in the 1950s, may have favored selection of resistance determinants in zoonotic Salmonella.

Ampicillin, the first penicillin active against Enterobacteriaceae, became available in 1961. Outbreaks caused by ampicillin-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium, a zoonotic bacterium, were described in 1962 and 1964 in the U.K. To gain insight into the origin and evolution of ampicillin resistance, investigators analyzed a collection of 288 S. enterica serotype Typhimurium isolates obtained between 1911 and 1969 from multiple sources (humans, animals, food, and feed) from 31 countries on 4 continents. The authors found no published descriptions of transmissible ampicillin resistance or of β-lactamase in Salmonella spp. before 1962.

They conducted whole-genome sequencing analysis of 225 of the 288 isolates. Of these isolates, 4…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Transmissible Ampicillin Resistance Existed Before Ampicillin Was Released

Topics

Reviewing Author