Antimicrobial-resistance in salmonella isolated from reptiles

The development of antimicrobial resistance is a very complex subject, recognized by National authorities as a major public health emergency. This is in particular true for Salmonella spp., which shows multi-resistance to various common antimicrobials. Recently, an increase in the number of human cases of Salmonella spp. infection associated with the exposure to exotic pets has been reported. In the last years the diffusion of exotic pets in Italy is greatly increased and therefore their possible epidemiological role in emerging human salmonellosis has to be considered. In the examined pet reptiles from Veneto and Lombardy, the prevalence of Salmonella spp. infection was high (61%), but multi-resistance seems to be rare and restricted to a small number of antimicrobial