On the 24th of March 2020, Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Reference Laboratory published an original article on Salmonella at the Philippine Journal of Pathology. The study entitled, “A Fifteen-Year Report of Serotype Distribution and Antimicrobial Resistance of Salmonella in the Philippines” described the epidemiology and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Salmonella isolates collected in the reference laboratory from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2018. In this study, a total of 2,387 isolates were serotyped using Sven Gard method for slide agglutination method, with the classification of antigenic formula through White-Kauffman Le Minor Scheme. Antimicrobial susceptibility profile of isolates included in this study were determined against six antibiotics using both automated and conventional methods. A total of 69 serotypes were identified with the most common being Salmonella enterica ser. Typhi, Salmonella enterica ser. Enteritidis and Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium. Majority of the isolates were from male patients aged 6 to 17 years old. The antimicrobial resistance rates for typhoidal Salmonella isolates to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone and cefotaxime were lower compared with the antimicrobial resistance rates for non-typhoidal Salmonella isolates. Multidrug resistance for both Salmonella Typhi and NTS were relatively low. Continued and enhanced surveillance is needed to monitor the rising levels of antimicrobial resistance, determine risk factors and exposures associated with Salmonella Typhi and NTS infection to guide prevention and control measures.

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https://philippinejournalofpathology.org/index.php/PJP/article/view/169