Antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Salmonella worthington isolated from neonates--a retrospective study

Salmonella worthington is an emerging pathogen and has been implicated in a number of outbreaks of neonatal meningitis and septicemia. Over a period of 5 years, a total of 30 strains of this pathogen were isolated from blood and cerebrospinal fluid of neonates suffering from septicemia with or without meningitis. Most of these strains were resistant to the penicillin group of antibiotics, and many were resistant to cefotaxime. Sixty percent of the isolates were resistant to amikacin; 86% were resistant to chloramphenicol, and none were resistant to ciprofloxacin or norfloxacin. Parenteral fluoroquinolone should be included as part of antibiotic therapy in suspected cases of neonatal meningitis due to S. worthington.