SUMMARY: Salmonellaspp. comprise the second most common food-borne pathogens in the European Union (EU). The role of pigs as carriers ofSalmonellahas been intensively studied both on farm and at slaughter.Salmonellainfection in pigs may cause fever, diarrhoea, prostration and mortality. However, most infected pigs remain healthy carriers, and those infected at the end of the fattening period could pose a threat to human health. Contamination of pig carcasses can occur on the slaughter line, and it is linked to cross-contamination from other carcasses and the presence ofSalmonellain the environment. Therefore,Salmonellaserovars present on pig carcasses can be different from those detected in the same bathes on the farm. In recent years,S.Typhimurium,S.Derby andS.serotype 4,[5],12:i:- (a monophasic variant ofS.Typhimurium) have been the most common serovars to be detected in pigs in EU countries, butS.Rissen,S.Infantis,S.Enteritidis andS.Brandenburg have also been reported. In humans, several cases of salmonellosis have been linked to the consumption of raw or undercooked pork and pork products. Among the main serovars of porcine origin detected in confirmed human cases,S.Typhimurium, the monophasic variantS.4,[5],12:i:- andS.Derby are certainly the most important.

Antimicrobial resistance is an increasing global health problem and one of the major concerns for economic impacts worldwide. Recently, resistance against carbapenems (doripenem, ertapenem, imipenem, meropenem), which are critically important antimicrobials for human cares, poses a great risk all over the world. Carbapenemases are β-lactamases belonging to different Ambler classes (A, B, D) and encoded by both chromosomal and plasmidic genes. They hydrolyze a broad variety of β-lactams, including carbapenems, cephalosporins, penicillins and aztreonam. Despite several studies in human patients and hospital settings have been performed in European countries, the role of livestock animals, wild animals and the terrestrial and aquatic environment in the maintenance and transmission of carbapenemase- producing bacteria has been poorly investigated. The present review focuses on the carbapenemase-producing bacteria detected in pigs, cattle, poultry, fish, mollusks, wild birds and wild mammals in Europe as well as in non-European countries, investigating the genetic mechanisms for their transmission among food-producing animals and wildlife. To shed light on the important role of the environment in the maintenance and genetic exchange of resistance determinants between environmental and pathogenic bacteria, studies on aquatic sources (rivers, lakes, as well as wastewater treatment plants) are described.