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A high proportion of Campylobacter and Salmonella from both humans and food-producing animals continue to show resistance to ciprofloxacin, an important antimicrobial used to treat severe infections in humans. While resistance to ciprofloxacin in Salmonella from food-producing animals has been consistently high, resistance in human Salmonella infections has increased in recent years.
This trend is concerning, as resistance to ciprofloxacin limits the effectiveness of available treatment options. In Campylobacter, resistance is now so widespread in Europe that ciprofloxacin is no longer recommended for the treatment of human infections. To safeguard its continued effectiveness in human medicine, restrictions have been placed on its use in animals.
Across Europe, a high proportion of Salmonella and Campylobacter from both humans and targeted food-producing animals also show resistance to commonly used antimicrobials, including ampicillin, tetracyclines and sulfonamides.
Furthermore, the detection of carbapenemase-producing E. coli bacteria in food-producing animals and meat in several countries requires close attention. Carbapenems are last-resort antimicrobials for humans and are not authorised for use in food-producing animals. The number of reported detections is increasing, and the sources need further investigation.
Although a high proportion of Salmonella and Campylobacter from humans and food-producing animals remain resistant to commonly used antimicrobials, several countries have reported declining resistance to specific antimicrobials over time, showing that targeted efforts can make a difference.
For Salmonella, resistance in bacteria from humans to ampicillin and tetracyclines decreased significantly over the past ten years in 19 and 14 countries, respectively. Positive trends were also identified in food-producing animals at the EU level, with decreasing resistance to tetracyclines in broilers and to ampicillin and tetracyclines in turkeys.
For Campylobacter, resistance to erythromycin, a first-line treatment for Campylobacter infections in humans, has declined in several countries over the past decade, both in humans and in some food-producing animals.
In addition, combined resistance to critically important antimicrobials, meaning resistance to more than one of these antimicrobials at the same time, remains generally low in Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli.
Finally, earlier improvements have slowed down in some areas, particularly in E. coli, where resistance levels to some substances in poultry have stabilised rather than continued to decline. However, some countries were able to reduce antimicrobial resistance in food-producing animals, contributing to an overall improvement at EU level.
These findings highlight the importance of a One Health approach, recognising the close links between human health, animal health and food production.
February 18, 2026/ EFSA/ European Union.
https://www.efsa.europa.eu
