Maggie O’Neill and Taylor Pressnall

Salmonella and Typhoid Fever  

The scary truth about what’s hiding in your chicken… Avoid Antibiotic 
Resistance and Fight Off S
​ almonella typhi​! 

What is Antibiotic Resistance and Why Does It

Occur?
Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria is exposed to an antibiotic and is able to mutate and evolve in
order to resist an antibiotic that would have previously treated it. This exposure is most often caused by
overuse of antibiotics, domestication of animals, and people not finishing rounds of antibiotics. Certain
bacteria can be more resistant to antibiotics than others. Bacteria
can be either Gram (+) or Gram (-) and the difference between them
lies in the structure of the pathogen’s cell wall. Gram (-) bacteria
have an outer cell membrane that is hard to penetrate, making it
more resistant to antibiotics than Gram (+) bacteria. Therefore, when
a person gets a disease, the determination of if the bacteria is Gram
(+) or (-) often gives a good indication of how difficult it will be to
treat (Schaalje 2018).

A New Truth of ​Salmonella typhi

In the past 40 years, due to an excessive use of antibacterials, 
Salmonella typhi​, a Gram (-) bacteria, infections have developed to 
resist all first line antibiotics, including Amoxicillin, chloramphenicol, and co-trimoxazole. Resistance 
against other agents, such as cephalosporins & azithromycin, has been developing in nations around the 
world. Recently, high-level fluoroquinolone has developed resistance as well in South Asia, and it can 
possibly spread to other nations as well (Karkey and others 2018).  

How Salmonella typhi Infections are Being

Treated Today
Resistance to different agents is developing, so good surveillance, efficient diagnostics in genomic 
analysis, and cautious use of antimicrobials such as Cirpoflaxin and Ceftriaxone will be needed in order to 
treat these harmful infections. Currently, isothermal polymerase chain reaction technologies to help fight 
typhoid in regions that cannot afford expensive treatment to the infections (Dyson and others 2019). 

 
  

Works Cited

Schaalje, J. (2018, March). Medical Terminology: Gram Positive vs. Gram Negative Bacteria:

achs.edu. Retrieved from ​http://info.achs.edu/blog/gram-positive-gram-negative-bacteria​.

Karkey, A., Thwaites, G. E., & Baker, S. (2018, January). The evolution of antimicrobial

resistance in Salmonella Typhi. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29059070​.

Dyson, Zoe, Klemm, J, E., Palmer, Sophie, … Gordon. (2019, March 7). Antibiotic Resistance

and Typhoid. Retrieved from

https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/68/Supplement_2/S165/537123​.